PRIME MINISTER

Cabinet

Bob Neill: To ask the Prime Minister if he will hold meetings of the Cabinet outside London.

Gordon Brown: There is no reason why the Cabinet cannot meet outside of London. It has done so in the past and we shall consider it where appropriate in the future.

Departmental Conferences

Mark Hoban: To ask the Prime Minister what the  (a) scheduled date and  (b) title was of each conference proposed to be hosted by his Office which was cancelled before taking place in each of the last 10 years; and what costs were incurred in respect of each.

Gordon Brown: The information requested is not held centrally.

Departmental Manpower

Mark Hoban: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 1 May 2008,  Official Report, column 624W, on departmental manpower, 
	(1)  how many of the people in each unit are special advisers; and how many staff there are in the Political Office;
	(2)  what the official descriptions are of the jobs in the categories  (a) private office,  (b) Number 10 Policy Unit,  (c) press officers,  (d) strategic communications unit and  (e) research and information; and who is employed in each category;
	(3)  how many staff in his Office  (a) are classified as Government communicators and  (b) have access to the Government Communication Network.

Gordon Brown: I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave the hon. Member on 1 May 2008,  Of ficial Report, column 624W.

Food

James Paice: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  how much was spent by 10 Downing Street on  (a) food and  (b) food of British origin in each of the last five years;
	(2)  from which five countries of origin the greatest amount of food was procured by 10 Downing Street in the last year for which figures are available; and what the  (a) cost and  (b) quantity procured was in each case.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my predecessor (the right hon. Tony Blair) on 31 January 2007,  Official Report, column 303W.

George Bush

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister whether consideration was given to arranging for President Bush to fly into a military airport on his recent visit to the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Gordon Brown: It has been the practice of successive Governments not to comment on security matters.

Nuclear Power: Private Sector

Dai Davies: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he had with private sector nuclear operators in the United Kingdom prior to his speech on 22nd June to the International Oil Summit in Jeddah.

Gordon Brown: My officials and I have meetings with a wide range of organisations and individuals on a range of subjects. I also refer the hon. Member to the press briefing given by my spokesman on 23 June 2008. A transcript of this is available on the No. 10 website:
	http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page15831.asp
	and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Coroners: Juries

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the likely effect in Northern Ireland of the provisions in the Counter-Terrorism Bill if enacted allowing for inquests to be held without a jury.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office maintains close contact with the Home Office with regard to the development of counter-terrorism policy and legislation.
	Northern Ireland Office Ministers were in direct contact with their colleagues in the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice about the proposals relating to inquests contained in the Counter-Terrorism Bill.

Departmental Conferences

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the conferences hosted by his Department in each of the last two years; and what the cost was of each conference.

Shaun Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office and its executive agencies have hosted the following conferences in each of the last two years:
	
		
			  Conference  Cost (£) 
			  2006-07  
			 Criminal Justice System Northern Ireland Annual Stakeholder Conference 46,033.85 
			 Chaplains Conference 4,037.85 
			   
			  2007-08  
			 Chaplains Conference 3,665.05 
			 Claims Conference 336.05 
			 Restorative Practice Conference 3,000.00 
			 Criminal Justice System Northern Ireland Annual Stakeholder Conference 14,788.88 
			 Criminal Justice Week—Delay Seminar 8,620.26 
		
	
	In addition a political summit was held at St. Andrews in October 2006. Details of costs were provided in a written ministerial statement on 28 March 2007.

Departmental Furniture

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many  (a) chairs,  (b) desks and  (c) other office furnishings have been purchased by his Department and its agencies in each of the last five years; and at what cost in each case.

Shaun Woodward: My Department and its agencies do not separately record the amount of expenditure on chairs, desks and other office furnishings. The total amount spent is only available for each of the last three years and is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  £000 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 NIO 27 22 14 
			 Youth Justice Agency 84 56 41 
			 Crown Solicitors Office l 3 3 
			 Northern Ireland Prison Service 57 88 164 
			 Forensic Science Northern Ireland 5 7 10 
			 Public Prosecution Service (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Compensation Agency 8 5 3 
			 (1) Not available.

Departmental Public Buildings

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many  (a) new builds and  (b) major refurbishments were completed by his Department for a cost in excess of £0.5 million in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08 to which the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method or equivalent was applied; how many such buildings were assessed as (A) pass, (B) good, (C) very good and (D) excellent; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: In the period in question my Department completed one project in excess of £0.5 million—a new building in financial year 2006-07. It achieved a BREEAM rating of excellent.

Departmental Public Buildings

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many  (a) new builds and  (b) major refurbishments for a cost in excess of £0.5 million were completed by his Department in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08.

Shaun Woodward: In the period in question my Department completed one project in excess of £0.5million—a new building in financial year 2006-07.

Proscribed Organisations

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with what  (a) republican paramilitary groups and  (b) factions of such groups representatives of the Government held discussions over the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The Government have met with a variety of groups over the last 10 years as a way of providing a route out of paramilitarism into normal politics for those who wish to take it. I am sure that everybody looks forward to the day when all vestiges of Northern Ireland's paramilitary extreme have been relegated to where they belong—the past.

Security: Licensing

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people with convictions for scheduled offences were granted a licence to run a private security firm in Northern Ireland in each year since 1998.

Paul Goggins: To establish whether a licence has been granted to any individual with a scheduled conviction would incur disproportionate cost.
	Under the legislation the Secretary of State must grant a licence to a private security firm in Northern Ireland unless satisfied that a proscribed organisation would benefit (either financially or non-financially) from the licence, or there has been persistent failure to comply with the licensing regime. Since 1 August 2007 the Secretary of State has also been able to refuse a licence if satisfied that the applicant is engaged in criminal activity. Advice is sought from PSNI and the Security Service to ascertain whether or not any of the conditions for refusal of a licence apply in the case of an applicant.

Wood

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much timber and how many timber products were procured by his Department in each of the last five years; and at what cost.

Shaun Woodward: My Department does not record the quantity procured or amount spent specifically on timber and timber products.

Wood

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much timber and timber products were procured by his Department originating from independently verified legal and sustainable sources or from a licensed FLEGT partner in each of the last five years; and at what cost.

Shaun Woodward: My Department does not record the quantity of timber procured from independently verified legal and sustainable sources or from a licensed FLEGT partner, neither does it record expenditure on such products.
	Current contract conditions specify that timber and timber derived products must be provided from legal and sustainable sources.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Departmental Buildings

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many  (a) new builds and  (b) major refurbishments were completed by the House of Commons Services for a cost in excess of £0.5 million in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08 to which the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method or equivalent was applied; how many such buildings were assessed as (A) pass, (B) good, (C) very good and (D) excellent; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: There were no  (a) new builds or  (b) major refurbishments completed by the House of Commons Services with a value in excess of £0.5 million in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08 to which the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method or equivalent was applied.
	The last new build completed on the Commons Estate was Portcullis House which received a Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method rating of Excellent in December 2001.

Members: Allowances

Frank Doran: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answers to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland of 3 April 2008,  Official Report, columns 1142-43W, and the hon. Member for Aberdeen, North of 20 May 2008,  Official Report, column 174W, on freedom of information: requests for data held, what the estimated cost is of preparing for publication the information on hon. Members' expenses to be released in the autumn.

Nick Harvey: It is planned to produce the information by scanning the material in the paper files to provide computer files of digital images, and to edit these to remove some sensitive information. Some of this work may be done by a contractor in secure conditions. The remainder will be carried out by the House's own staff, who will then send the material proposed for release to the Members concerned and will also need to deal with any representations made. The costs of this work are subject to substantial uncertainty but are expected to be in the region of £950,000.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2008,  Official Report, column 532W, on bovine tuberculosis, when he plans to respond to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee's recent report on badgers and bovine tuberculosis, HC 130.

Jonathan R Shaw: The position remains unchanged from that reported on 13 June. We continue to consider the complex evidence on this issue and will respond to the Committee as soon as our deliberations are complete.

Environment Agency: Vacancies

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 4 June 2008,  Official Report, column 920W, on flood control: vacancies, 
	(1)  how many vacancies for  (a) flood risk engineers,  (b) flood risk planners,  (c) flood risk project managers and  (d) other flood risk management posts there were in the Environment Agency in each region on 1 April in each of the last five years;
	(2)  for how long each post for  (a) flood risk engineers,  (b) flood risk planners,  (c) flood risk project managers and  (d) other flood risk management referred to has been vacant.

Phil Woolas: I have arranged for the information requested to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Environment Protection: Skilled Workers

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department  (a) is undertaking and  (b) has commissioned on the skills required to deliver a low carbon economy; and with which other Departments and non-departmental public bodies his Department is collaborating on such research.

Phil Woolas: On 1 May 2008, the Government published "Building a low carbon economy: unlocking innovation and skills". This sets out how the Government will make the UK one of the best locations in the world to develop and introduce low carbon and resource efficient products, processes, services and business models.
	DEFRA officials are working proactively with the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills, the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, employers, Sector Skills Councils, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, and expert bodies representing the environmental industries. The aim is to develop our evidence and understanding of the skills implications of the transition to a low carbon, resource efficient and sustainable economy and to ensure that these at the heart of our skills system. This includes a research project, commissioned in April 2008, to review the current evidence in this area.

Flood Control

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding has been provided to implement each Catchment Flood Management Plan.

Phil Woolas: Catchment Flood Management Plans (CFMPs) are intended to be high level strategic planning tools providing direction for the management of flood risk in the inland environment. They are not themselves investment plans and hence funding will not be specifically allocated to the implementation of an individual plan.

Flood Control

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Environment Agency on its six policy choices for the Catchment Flood Management Plan; and what guidance the Agency has provided on the suitability of policy choices for particular areas.

Phil Woolas: Extensive discussions were held between the Environment Agency, DEFRA and the Welsh Assembly Government on the six policy choices for a Catchment Flood Management Plan (CFMP) and the Policy Guidance for the preparation of CFMPs was a joint publication. The Environment Agency has developed detailed guidance for policy selection for individual areas. The choice of policy requires consideration of current and potential future flood risk along with catchment opportunities and constraints, to develop objectives for the catchment. These objectives are then used to test the merits of the alternative policy choices in order to decide a preferred policy.

Flood Control

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the modelling of the Environment Agency on individual Catchment Flood Management Plans is available for consultation by the public.

Phil Woolas: The modelling used in developing a Catchment Flood Management Plan (CFMP) is not included within the consultation material made available to the public as part of the draft plan. The relevant parts of the output from the modelling is included in the draft plan.

Floods

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he will publish the Pitt review on flooding.

Phil Woolas: The Secretary of State for Environment (Hilary Benn) welcomed the publication of the Pitt report on 25 June. Copies of the report have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Warm Front Scheme

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what budget allocation to the Warm Front programme his Department  (a) made in each year since the programme's establishment and  (b) for each of the next three years.

Phil Woolas: Warm Front spend since the scheme's inception in 2000 is outlined as follows:
	
		
			  Scheme year  Approximate total spend/budget (£ million) 
			 2000-01 72 
			 2001-02 197 
			 2002-03 163 
			 2003-04 164 
			 2004-05 166 
			 2005-06 192 
			 2006-07 320 
			 2007-08 350 
		
	
	Warm Front's budget for the 2008-11 period is approximately £800 million. However, the yearly breakdown over this period has not yet been finalised.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Biofuels

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the potential effect of use of biofuels in petrol and diesel on food prices.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	In April 2008, DEFRA published a report on the sustainability impact of biofuels which reviewed the existing research on the impact of biofuels on commodity and food prices. It is available on the DEFRA website.
	The Government are concerned about the effect of rising food prices and the contribution that the demand for biofuels could make to that. The Government will give careful consideration to the findings of the Gallagher Review in respect of the impacts of biofuels on food prices.

Biofuels: Grants

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what grants are available to  (a) biomass producers and  (b) producers of other biofuels.

Malcolm Wicks: The main Government support mechanism for biofuels comes in the form of fuel duty incentives and since April 2008, through the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation. Further information is at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/environment/rtfo/
	However there are a number of grants available to biomass and biofuel producers.
	 Support for farmers :
	The £47 million Energy Crops Scheme, administered by Natural England under the 2007-13 Rural Development Programme England, aims to increase the supply of biomass from perennial energy crops. Farmers can claim 40 per cent. of establishment costs for miscanthus and short rotation coppice. The crops can be used for heat and power generation and potentially for second generation transport biofuels. Similar schemes are available in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
	Farmers can claim the EU annual €45/ha Energy Aid payment for crops grown on non set-aside land for use in the generation of heat, power or transport biofuels. The Single Payment can be claimed for these crops grown on both set-aside and non set-aside land.
	 Support for installations :
	 The Bio-energy Capital Grants Scheme
	This £66 million scheme, joint-funded by BERR and the National Lottery's New Opportunities Fund scheme was Launched in February 2002. Although intended to principally encourage the development of power stations, a clear priority of the scheme was to increase usage of energy crops. These rounds of the scheme are now closed with no further applications being taken.
	Subsequent rounds of the scheme are being funded by DEFRA to support the installation of biomass heat boilers and combined heat and power plants in England only. So far, around £8 million of capital grants have been awarded, with around £4 million still to be allocated. Subject to funding, DEFRA hopes to run another round later this year, with further rounds in 2009 and 2010.
	BERR, in association with industry, academia and other stakeholders, also provides Research and Development (R and D) support through its Technology Strategy Board (TSB)—including support work on next-generation biofuels and biorefineries. The TSB provides Government funding for innovative business-led R and D. In December 2008 it announced a £10 million call for collaborative R and D projects in the 'Low Carbon Energy Technologies' area, including bio-energy.
	Grant funding may also be available through the EU's Framework Programme 7 and Intelligent Energy Europe Programmes, which support collaborative Research, Development and Deployment into innovative energy technologies, and collaborative projects to address barriers to market entry for new energy technologies. Where projects fit with this description, further detail is available through the UK's dedicated helpline, at:
	www.energiehelpline.co.uk
	or by telephoning: 0161 874 3636.
	More widely, local authorities and Regional Development Agencies throughout the UK and the devolved administrations are at liberty to run and provide their own local support schemes for producers of biomass and biofuels.

Carbon Sequestration

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what progress has been made on the commitment in the Gleneagles G8 Climate Change Action Plan to  (a) study the definitions, costs and scope for capture-ready fossil fuel plants and  (b) consider economic incentives for the development of such plants.

Malcolm Wicks: The Gleneagles Action Plan invited the International Energy Agency (IEA) to work with the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF) to study definitions, costs and scope for 'capture ready' plant and consider economic incentives. A report, "CO2 Capture Ready Plants", was published by the IEA in May 2007. It is available at
	http://www.iea.org/Textbase/publications/free_newDesc.asp? PUBS_ID=1980
	Conclusions from this report were included in the IEA's recommendations submitted to the G8 Energy Ministers' meeting on 8 June 2008. G8 Energy Ministers supported all the recommendations on carbon capture and storage put forward by the IEA, including a recommendation for further work to be undertaken to understand and define the concept of "capture and storage ready" plants and its value as a viable mitigation strategy.
	The full conclusions of the IEA's work will be reported to the G8 Summit in Hokkaido next month.

Departmental Assets

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform over what period his Department depreciates the asset value of its  (a) vehicles,  (b) computer hardware,  (c) bespoke computer software,  (d) standard computer software,  (e) furniture and  (f) telecommunications equipment.

Gareth Thomas: The Department depreciates its assets over periods consistent with the accounting standards laid out in the Financial Reporting Manual. The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			   Years 
			 Vehicles (1)— 
			 Computer equipment 3 to 10 
			 Furniture 7 
			 Telecommunications equipment 5 to 10 
			 (1) The Department does not own any vehicles.

Departmental Buildings

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how frequently his Department restates the asset values of its building estate.

Gareth Thomas: The Department re-values its building estate every five years, where appropriate.

Departmental Buildings

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many  (a) new builds and  (b) major refurbishments were completed by his Department for a cost in excess of £0.5 million in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08 to which the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method or equivalent was applied; how many such buildings were assessed as (A) pass, (B) good, (C) very good and (D) excellent; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The Department has not completed any new builds or major refurbishments over the periods in question to which the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method or equivalent was applied.

Departmental Conferences

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will list the conferences hosted by his Department in each of the last two years; and what the cost was of each conference.

Gareth Thomas: This information is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Expert Groups

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what expert groups his Department has set up since it was established.

Gareth Thomas: Details of formal, standing bodies set up by Government to provide independent, expert advice to Departments and Ministers are published annually by the Cabinet Office. These bodies, known as advisory non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), are listed in the annual "Public Bodies" publication. "Public Bodies" also contains some details on short-term advisory groups and task forces. Copies of "Public Bodies" from 1999 to 2006 can be viewed and downloaded from:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/public/bodies.asp.
	listed under the Department's former name Department of Trade and Industry.
	Information on the Department's Public Bodies for 2007 can be downloaded from:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk./about/strategy-objectives/annual-spending/page40391.html.
	Copies are also available in the Library for the reference of Members.

Departmental Responsibilities

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many reviews of regulation his Department and its agencies have conducted or commenced since July 2007; and in which areas.

Patrick McFadden: The Department's Better Regulation Simplification Plan published in December 2007 followed a detailed review of the administrative burdens imposed by all the regulations for which BERR and its agencies are responsible available at:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk//files/file42767.pdf
	Our approach is to review regulation in line with the March 2008 White Paper "Post-legislative scrutiny: the Government's Approach" by the Office of the Leader of the House.
	In addition, the revised Impact Assessment process has increased the focus on post implementation reviews.

Departmental Security

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many departmental identity cards or departmental passes have been reported lost or stolen in the last 24 months in  (a) his Department and its predecessor and  (b) each of its executive agencies.

Gareth Thomas: The number of departmental access passes reported lost or stolen in the last 24 months, from 1 June 2006 to date, by BERR and its predecessor, DTI, is 106. There is nothing on the pass which indicates which buildings or organisations it gives access to.
	I have approached the chief executives of the Insolvency Service and Companies House and they will respond to you directly.
	 Letter from Robert Burns, dated 23 June 2008:
	The Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, has asked me to reply to you directly on behalf of the Insolvency Service in respect of your question (2007/2946) asking how many departmental identity cards or departmental passes have been reported lost or stolen in the last 24 months by (a) his Department and (b) each of its executive agencies.
	The amount of departmental identity cards lost/stolen from the Insolvency Service in the past 24 months is 9.
	 Letter from Tim Moss, dated 23 June 2008:
	I am responding on behalf of Companies House to your recently tabled Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
	In the last 24 months Companies House has had 26 staff security passes reported lost; none have been reported stolen.

Departmental Sick Leave

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the average number of days taken as sick leave in his Department and its predecessor was in each of the last five years for which information is available; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: Sickness absence data for the Department of Trade and Industry for 2004, 2005 and 2006-07, including the average number of days taken as sick leave, is published on the public civil service website at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/statistics/sickness.asp
	along with data for other Departments and agencies.
	Cabinet Office has introduced a revised format for reporting sickness absence statistics across the civil service. The new format was introduced at the end of March 2008 and the first report covers the calendar year 2007. The first BERR report using this format indicated an average number of working days lost due to sickness absence as 6.1 for the calendar year to December 2007.
	The most recent internal departmental data on sickness absence indicates that the average number of sick days taken per person in the year to 30 April 2008 was 5.8.

Departmental Television

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to what premium Sky, digital terrestrial or cable television channels  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its agencies subscribes; and at what cost in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Gareth Thomas: The Department and its Executive agencies do not subscribe to any premium Sky, digital terrestrial or cable television channels. The Department does subscribe to the COI service which provides links to the House of Commons and House of Lords at an annual cost of £33,000.

Departmental Vetting

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what procedures his Department follows for checking the criminal records of employees; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: All new recruits to BERR are subject to a minimum of the HMG Basic Check. For all employees requiring unescorted access to BERR London offices, there is a check of both spent and unspent criminal records. For staff recruited to posts based outside of London, applicants are required to provide a self-declaration of unspent criminal records. On a random basis, 20 per cent. of these self-declarations are checked.
	A check of both spent and unspent criminal records is carried out in support of national security vetting where this is deemed appropriate for specific posts.

Electricity: Research

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what progress has been made on the commitment in the Gleneagles G8 Climate Change Action Plan to identify and link centres of excellence for the promotion of research and development of electricity grids.

Malcolm Wicks: The International Energy Agency led the development of this work, with the support of its member states. The Agency held three workshops (November 2006, April 2007 and October 2007) to identify representatives of the major centres of excellence; to share experience; and to discuss the integration of variable renewables (wind, solar, wave, tidal) in electricity grids. The background material, presentations and findings of these workshops are available at:
	(i) http://www.iea.org/Textbase/work/workshopdetail.asp? ID=284
	(ii) http://www.iea.org/Textbase/work/workshopdetail.asp?WS_ ID=314; and
	(iii) http://www.iea.org/Textbase/work/workshopdetai1.asp?WS_ ID=335
	The Agency's final report on the work—'Empowering Variable Renewables: Options for Flexible Electricity Systems'—is expected to be published at the end of July.

Energy

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent assessment he has made of the potential of decentralised energy networks initiated by local councils to contribute to energy efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions reductions.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 20 June 2008
	In developing our policies on energy and carbon reduction we have received views and evidence from many organisations of the potential of decentralised energy networks to contribute to energy efficiency or climate change reductions, including those initiated by local councils. The Department has not itself made a comprehensive assessment of the potential of specific schemes initiated by local councils.

Energy: Conservation

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what progress has been made on the commitment in the Gleneagles G8 Climate Change Action Plan to develop local commercial capacity projects promoting energy efficiency and low-carbon energy sources.

Malcolm Wicks: There are numerous examples of such projects under the Clean Energy Investment Framework implemented by the World Bank and the other regional development banks. These include:
	The Inter American Development Bank's work in Peru which provided financing to support 100 small-scale hydropower plants operated by small local firms and community associations; and in Panama for a long term contract with small firms and community associations for hybrid energy supply scheme solar panels and wind energy to 4,000 households.
	The World Bank's "Lighting Africa" initiative has trained over 100 local entrepreneurs and project developers from across 30 countries in Africa to access global carbon finance markets. It helps to scale up the implementation of the off-grid renewable and energy efficient lighting projects in their countries. For grid-based energy efficiency, the World Bank's "Efficient Lighting Initiative" is helping to develop the capacity of local counterparts (electric utilities, energy ministries, bureaus of standards and testing, and the private sector) in Africa, Asia and Latin America on best practices for large-scale deployment of efficient lighting systems (for example, replacing incandescent bulbs with energy saver compact fluorescent lamps—CFLs); and Under the Slovak Sustainable Energy Financing Facility, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has provided a €60 million credit line to four local banks to enable them to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy. This support includes assistance to build capacity in the banks to appraise loan applications and to help sub-borrowers in developing energy audits and rational energy utilisation plans.

Energy: Conservation

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what progress has been made on the commitment in the Gleneagles G8 Climate Change Action Plan to develop a framework for energy investment to accelerate the adoption of cleaner and more efficient energy technologies.

Malcolm Wicks: The commitment was addressed to the World Bank and other multilateral development Banks.
	To support the World Bank and other multilateral development Banks, the UK has committed over £15 million of grant technical assistance to their clean energy investment frameworks. These funds have been used to help the Banks undertake analytical work on climate change mitigation and adaptation issues, to study the economics of climate change and to undertake a number of low carbon growth strategies.
	The multilateral development Banks have prepared a report to the G8 Summit entitled "Joint Multilateral Development Banks Report to the G8 on the Implementation of the Clean Energy Investment Framework and Their Climate Change Agenda Going Forward". This report outlines what the Banks have done, individually and collectively, to make progress on several important aspects of the climate change agenda. The report describes each of the Banks' overall strategies and gives examples of specific programmes, approved by their Executive Boards which, in aggregate, amount to a global clean energy investment framework.
	The multilateral development Banks have set out an investment programme of new energy lending of at least $117.7 billion between their financial years 2008-10 under the clean energy investment framework. This includes increased investment on energy access and low carbon technologies. They also commit to scaling up adaptation investments.
	We have also been working with the multilateral development Banks, a number of other donor government, developing countries and civil society to establish the new climate investment funds: These funds are designed to help developing countries with low carbon and climate resilient development. The multilateral development Banks have estimated that if a minimum of $5 billion is provided under the new multilateral climate investment funds they could leverage an additional. $24 billion of additional programmes and projects.

European Chemicals Agency

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the  (a) role and  (b) budget is of the European Chemicals Agency.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	The role of the European Chemicals Agency is set out in European Regulation 1907/2006 on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). It draws on its permanent staff and the member state experts on its various committees to manage the technical, scientific and administrative aspects of REACH. It also has a role in providing advice and guidance to industry and ensuring consistent application of the regulation across the European Union. Its budget for 2008 is approximately €66 million.

Exports: Peacekeeping Operations

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many of the single individual export licences issued in 2007 with respect to  (a) Afghanistan and  (b) Iraq had an end user which was a private military or security company.

Malcolm Wicks: Although information on end users is required for the assessment of Standard Individual Export Licence applications, the Government do not hold information by categories of end user.
	The Government publish detailed information on export and trade control licences issued, refused and revoked, including the overall value and a summary of the items covered by these licences, in their Annual and Quarterly Reports on Strategic Export Controls. This does not however include information on end users, which is confidential.
	The Government's Annual Report for 2007 has not yet been published, but the Quarterly Reports covering 2007 have been. The Government's Annual Reports, published since 1997, are available from the House of Commons Library, and all the Annual Reports from 2003 onwards, plus the Quarterly Reports covering 2007, are available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website at:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/en//aboutthefco/publications/publications/annualreports/exportcontrols1

Fuel Poverty: Leeds

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what his estimate is of the number of people in  (a) Leeds West constituency and  (b) Leeds metropolitan district who are eligible for a social tariff from energy suppliers.

Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is not available. Energy suppliers voluntarily provide a range of assistance to households vulnerable to fuel poverty, including social tariffs. In April the Government secured the individual agreement of the six largest energy suppliers to increase their collective spend on social assistance to £150 million a year by 2010-11. This will be spent on a number of initiatives including social tariffs, rebates and trust funds.

Industry: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what progress has been made on the commitment to the Gleneagles G8 Climate Change Action Plan to develop partnerships with industry to reduce the greenhouse gas emission intensity of major industrial sectors.

Malcolm Wicks: We have supported the International Energy Agency's Gleneagles programme of work, which included developing partnerships with industry. The Agency has produced a number of publications and workshops, including a IEA Chief Technology Officer Roundtable in January this year; and workshops on energy efficiency and CO2 reductions in (a) the cement industry; (b) the pulp and paper Industry; (c) petrochemical products; (d) ammonia production; and (e) the aluminium industry.
	The G8, China, Korea and India, have recently established the new International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Co-operation, which includes the development of public-private partnerships in key energy consuming sectors.
	Domestically, we have various initiatives in place to encourage industry to use energy and resources more efficiently. For example, the Manufacturing Advisory Service offers help and advice to small and medium-sized enterprises to improve their operational efficiency and promote innovation through best practice and improving resource efficiency in both energy and waste. The Carbon Trust offers support for the development of low carbon technologies across the whole innovation process, as well as advice to business on reducing their carbon emissions.

Microgeneration

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what research his Department has commissioned on consumer understanding of the technology options and financial support for the installation of domestic microgeneration systems in the last three years.

Malcolm Wicks: A consortium comprising of BERR, regional development agencies, non-Government organisations and elements of the microgeneration industry commissioned research to provide a robust evidence base to inform the future direction of microgeneration policy. The research investigates consumer behaviour and the impact of various policy options on demand, models future uptake of microgeneration to 2050, and considers the likely impact of targets on uptake. It is available at:
	www.berr.gov.uk/energy/microgenerationresearch
	This updates earlier research on the potential of microgeneration commissioned by DTI and published in 2005.
	The Department has also undertaken general research in 2006, 2007 and 2008 on awareness of and attitudes to renewable energy.

Microgeneration: Theft

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what information his Department collects on the number of  (a) solar thermal panels,  (b) photovoltaic solar tiles and  (c) micro-generator wind turbines stolen from households in the last 12 months; and whether anti-theft guidance is issued to householders installing micro-generation technologies.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department does not hold any information on microgeneration technologies which may have been stolen from households in the last 12 months or provide guidance on this issue.

Nuclear Power

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the evidential basis was for his statement in his speech to the meeting of G8 Energy Ministers in Aomori, Japan on 8 June, that the debate about the role of nuclear power in the UK has shifted in recent years and that there is now a positive recognition that nuclear power can play an important role in securing energy supplies and reducing carbon emissions.

Malcolm Wicks: The terms of the debate on energy have changed in recent years. There is growing recognition that the UK is becoming a net importer of energy as our production of oil and gas declines and that climate change requires us to find low-carbon forms of producing energy. It is also recognised that urgent action is required in both areas. Our public consultation on nuclear power found much support for our view that the evidence argues that nuclear power should be part of the solution to these challenges, although I recognise that not everybody shares this view.

Nuclear Power

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps he has taken to put into effect Article 8.2 of the Convention on Nuclear Safety on ensuring an effective separation between the regulators and those organisations concerned with the promotion or utilisation of nuclear energy.

Malcolm Wicks: There are governmental mechanisms in place to maintain regulatory independence. HSE is sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions, which has no role in promoting nuclear technology. The Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform is answerable to Parliament for nuclear safety in Great Britain.
	The Health and Safety Executive's (HSE's) independence as a regulator is ensured under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, where HSE is given direct responsibility for the enforcement of the nuclear safety regulatory system. Similarly, the environment agencies are made responsible to provide the environmental protection regulatory system under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993.

Oil: Storage

Nick Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much  (a) crude oil and  (b) diesel was stored in the UK on 1 May (a) 2008, (b) 2007, (c) 2006 and (d) 2005.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 23 June 2008
	Opening stocks of  (a) crude oil and  (b) diesel oil stored in the UK on 1 May for the years 2005 to 2007 and on 1 April 2008 (for which latest figures are available) are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Million tonnes 
			   Crude oil  Diesel oil 
			 1 April 2008 5.5 0.8 
			 1 May 2007 5.8 0.7 
			 1 May 2006 6.0 0.8 
			 1 May 2005 5.8 0.6

Plastics: Wastes

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the potential to convert plastic waste to fuel in the UK; whether any such projects are being supported by the Government; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government-funded Waste and Resource Action Programme (WRAP) has recently completed a detailed analysis of the options for dealing with waste plastic, including recycling, energy recovery as a fuel and landfill. WRAP held a dissemination event for industry on 5 June 2008. The full reports can be found at:
	www.wrap.org.uk/manufacturing/projects/plastic_projects/mixed_ plastics.html
	The work concluded that for the majority of plastic waste it was generally preferable to recycle the plastic into new products rather than use it to generate energy. The small fraction of waste plastic that it is not practical to recycle provides good potential for energy-from-waste, particularly as a refuse derived fuel. Landfilling was the least favourable option.

Post Offices: Closures

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many post offices there were in Yeovil constituency in each year since 1980; which post offices are open in the constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of POL, to reply direct to the hon. Member.
	Copies of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Renewable Energy

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent assessment he has made of  (a) the Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment published by the United Nations Environment Programme and  (b) the opportunities the assessment offers to British companies.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 20 June 2008
	The SWERA website at:
	http://swera.unep.net/
	is a very useful website that provides solar, wind and meteorological data for a number of different regions across the globe. British companies looking for investment opportunities overseas should certainly consider using sites like this one to inform their strategic decisions.

Retirement

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the number of people who would wish to continue working beyond the usual retirement age.

Patrick McFadden: In March 2006 we published the final regulatory impact assessment (RIA) for the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations. It estimated that in the first year the legislation would lead to an increase in labour supply of 3,000 people aged 65 and over, rising to 14,000 after 10 years.

Salmon: Norway

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will make it his policy to support an anti-subsidy case in Europe with regard to Norway and salmon production.

Gareth Thomas: holding answer 20 June 2008
	The Government will support any application for an anti-subsidy case provided that there is sufficient prima facie evidence to do so, and has said so to the Commission.

Television

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much his Department spent on  (a) commissioning and  (b) funding the production of television programmes (i) in each of the last three years and (ii) in 2008-09 to date; what programmes these were; and which companies made them.

Gareth Thomas: This Department has not commissioned or funded any television programmes in the last three years or in 2008-09 to date.

Water Power

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what research and development funding his Department has allocated to tidal and wave energy production since 2001; what recent representations he has received about the issue; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The UK has supported the challenge of developing and commercialising emerging wave and tidal-stream technologies in many ways since 2001. We currently have in place the most comprehensive package of support measures for marine energy anywhere in the world. Since 2000 over £100 million has been committed.
	The package of support measures funded by BERR and DIUS includes:
	£9 million for high quality basic science through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council's 'Supergen Marine' consortium.
	£35 million for innovative industry led technology development under the Technology Programme.
	The £1.1 billion Energy Technology Institute (a public/private partnership) will boost support for R and D. Its first call for Expressions of Interest, launched in December 2007, included wave and tidal technologies.
	£50 million under BERR's 'Marine Renewables Deployment Fund' to support the first larger-scale demonstration projects. Including £2 million towards the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, which provides world leading test facilities for wave and tidal-stream technologies. And £4.5 million has been earmarked for the 'Wave Hub' project that will provide the infrastructure for the first commercial wave farms.
	In addition we have also announced our intention to band the Renewables Obligation to provide additional support to foster the development of these emerging technologies. Marine technologies will receive two Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) further increasing our support.
	It has been estimated that up to 20 per cent. of the UK's electricity needs could be met from clean indigenous marine energy resource. Therefore it makes sense to support research into this area of electricity generation and the above package of support demonstrates the Government's continued commitment to supporting the development of this sector as highlighted in the Energy White Paper published in May 2007.
	I have had several meetings with the Wave and Tidal Industry, most recently with Pelamis Wave Power Ltd in early June and my officials are in regular contact with the BWEA Marine Strategy Group and the Wave Energy Technology Developers' Forum.

Wind Power

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether he has received representations on the effects of wind farms on  (a) the identification of aircraft on radar screens,  (b) low-flying training and  (c) seismic activity detection.

Malcolm Wicks: BERR Ministers and officials conduct regular discussions with wind industry representatives and counterparts in MOD, DFT, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and National Air Traffic Services (NATS) on radar and operations issues, and in particular identification issues.
	In addition, BERR chairs and facilitates an Aviation Strategy Group where military and civilian aviation officials and representatives of the wind industry are represented and are consulted on outstanding and future concerns.
	Related to the Prime Minister's commitment last year to find technical solutions to reduce aviation and radar objections around wind farms, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on this issue was also recently announced on 13 June. The MOU is a high level agreement between Government (including BERR, DFT and MOD) and industry that aims to deploy the renewable power the UK requires while also ensuring we maintain both a safe airspace and national security.
	The MOU and its associated workstreams (linked together in an Aviation Plan) will focus on several areas, including the exploration of innovative technological solutions focused on air defence and air traffic radar, and all parties have signed up to commit to find a solution to this issue.

Wind Power

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many applications for wind farms have been  (a) received,  (b) accepted and  (c) rejected in (i) the UK and (ii) Yorkshire and Humberside area in each year since 2001.

Malcolm Wicks: The following tables set out the numbers of applications for onshore wind farms received, consented and rejected in the UK and the Yorkshire and Humberside area in each year since 2001. This includes applications under both Section 36 of the Electricity Act and the Town and Country Planning Act (TCPA).
	It should be noted that an application consented or rejected in a specific year may have been received in a previous year.
	
		
			  Applications received 
			   Number of applications  Megawatts 
			   UK  Yorkshire and Humberside( 1)  UK  Yorkshire and Humberside( 1) 
			 2001 38 0 675.6 0.0 
			 2002 61 0 1,295.5 0.0 
			 2003 78 2 1,800.9 133.0 
			 2004 93 7 4,461.7 106.4 
			 2005 103 4 2,806.4 74.0 
			 2006 108 6 2,252.6 77.0 
			 2007 73 7 1,647.2 99.6 
			 2008 9 0 208.8 0.0 
			 (1) There were six applications with no submission dates—these are not included in the table. 
		
	
	
		
			  Applications consented 
			   Number of applications  Megawatts 
			   UK  Yorkshire and Humberside( 1)  UK  Yorkshire and Humberside( 1) 
			 2001 17 0 206.0 0.0 
			 2002 26 0 278.8 0.0 
			 2003 28 0 572.4 0.0 
			 2004 42 2 661.4 10.4 
			 2005 47 3 940.9 0.1 
			 2006 40 5 798.6 55.3 
			 2007 46 5 871.1 45.9 
			 2008 11 3 498.1 157.0 
			 (1 )There were three applications with no consented dates—these are not included in the table. 
		
	
	
		
			  Applications rejected 
			   Number of applications  Megawatts 
			   UK  Yorkshire and Humberside( 1)  UK  Yorkshire and Humberside( 1) 
			 2001 11 0 45.3 0.0 
			 2002 13 0 179.0 0.0 
			 2003 12 0 138.4 0.0 
			 2004 12 0 143.6 0.0 
			 2005 18 0 365.6 0.0 
			 2006 15 0 410.2 0.0 
			 2007 23 2 430.0 44.0 
			 2008 7 1 792.0 (2)— 
			 (1 )There were three applications with no rejection dates—these are not included in the table.  (2 )Figure not available.

Wind Power: Radar

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what account his Department is taking of the effect of new wind farms on the UK's radar surveillance capability.

Malcolm Wicks: This is an issue the Department takes into account in both policy making and in its role as a consenting authority.
	The CLG's Planning Policy Statement (PPS22) on renewable energy includes aviation impacts as an area to be considered in renewable energy consent decisions by this Department and also by local planning authorities. Similar guidance is in place in Scotland and Wales.
	All objections, on aviation radar or other issues, are considered in the process of determining applications. The effect of wind turbines on radar is also one impact being considered under the Strategic Environmental Assessment on offshore wind announced last December. http://www.offshore-sea.org.uk/site/
	In addition, a number of further activities to increase understanding of the impact of wind farms and to develop technical solutions have been and continue to be undertaken by the Department directly, or are coordinated by the Department.
	For example, following on from the Prime Minister's commitment last year to find technical solutions to reduce aviation and radar objections around wind farms, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on this was announced on 13 June. This is a high level agreement between Government (including BERR, DFT and MoD) and industry that aims to deploy the renewable power we require while ensuring we maintain both a safe airspace and national security.
	The MoU and its associated workstreams (laid out in an Aviation Plan) will focus on several strands, including the exploration of innovative technological solutions focused on Air Defence and Air Traffic radar, and all parties have signed up to commit to find a solution to this issue.

Wind Power: Radar

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the cost of testing UK radar systems for the impact on them of offshore wind turbines was in each year since 2001.

Malcolm Wicks: The testing of UK radar systems does not fall within BERR's remit. The Department does not hold data on the cost on testing UK radar systems by other organisations.
	A great deal of work has followed on from the Prime Minister's commitment last year to find technical solutions to reduce aviation and radar objections around wind farms, and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was announced on 13 June, covering a high level agreement between Government (including BERR, DFT and MOD) and industry that aims to deploy the renewable power we require while ensuring we maintain both a safe airspace and national security.
	The MOU and its associated workstreams (laid out in an Aviation Plan) will focus on several strands, including the exploration of innovative technological solutions to air traffic radar and air defence radar issues, as well as radar absorbent wind turbine technology, and all parties have signed up to commit to find a solution to this issue.

Wind Power: Radar

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what funding is being provided to assess the effect of offshore wind farms on radar systems in  (a) 2008-09,  (b) 2009-10 and  (c) 2010-11.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has in the past funded and will continue to fund projects to develop and trial technical solutions to address this issue. Projects are funded on an individual basis according to a business case being satisfied. The Department does not hold figures on funding from other organisations.
	In addition, following on from the Prime Minister's commitment last year to find technical solutions to reduce aviation and radar objections around wind farms, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on this issue was recently announced on 13 June. The MOU is a high level agreement between Government (including BERR, DFT and MOD) and industry that aims to deploy the renewable power the UK requires while also ensuring we maintain both a safe airspace and national security. The MOU and its associated workstreams (linked together in an Aviation Plan) will focus on several areas, including the exploration of innovative technological solutions focused on air defence and air traffic radar, and all parties have signed up to commit to find a solution to this issue.

TRANSPORT

Aviation: Exhaust Emissions

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department plans to measure  (a) the total greenhouse gas emissions and  (b) the monetary costs arising from those emissions from inbound international flights to the UK.

Jim Fitzpatrick: There is no internationally agreed way to allocate to individual countries the CO2 emissions from international flights. For CO2 emissions reporting purposes, the UN framework convention on climate change requires each nation to report emissions based on aviation bunker fuel consumption, which is closely related to fuel used on departing flights.
	The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory reports annual CO2 emissions for domestic and international aviation for the UK on this basis. The Department for Transport has no plans to measure emissions from inbound international flights to the UK, nor their monetary costs.

Aviation: Luggage

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which airports have applied to her Department for permission to relax the one bag rule since 7 January 2008; and which airports have had that permission granted.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 26 June 2008
	The following airports have applied for permission to remove the one bag restriction—Aberdeen, Belfast International, Benbecula, Biggin Hill, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Blackpool, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, City of Derry, Coventry, Dundee, Durham Tees Valley, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Exeter, Farnborough, Filton, Gatwick, George Best Belfast City, Glasgow, Gloucestershire, Guernsey, Hawarden, Heathrow, Humberside, Inverness, Islay, Isle of Man, Jersey, Kent International, Kirkwall, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool John Lennon, London City, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle, Newquay Cornwall, Norwich, Plymouth, Prestwick, Robin Hood, Southampton, Southend, Stansted, Stornoway, Sumburgh, Tiree, Warton and Wick. Applications from two airports, Liverpool John Lennon and Luton, are still under consideration.

Biofuels

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2008,  Official Report, column 30W, on biofuels, when the Renewable Fuels Agency will be reporting on the adequacy of information contained in the sustainability reports submitted by the 16 June deadline.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Renewable Fuels Agency (RFA) is currently considering its reporting strategy, including the content and timing of reports, in liaison with stakeholders. The RFA has a statutory duty under section 14 of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligations Order 2007 (SI 3072) to report annually to Parliament on this and other matters. In addition, the Secretary of State for Transport has asked for quarterly reports from the RFA on the sustainability of the biofuels used under the RTFO. The first of these quarterly reports is due to be submitted in the early autumn.

Cycling: Greater London

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which London boroughs operate a cycle to work scheme.

Rosie Winterton: We do not collect this information centrally. Neither local authorities, nor private industry companies are required to register their cycle to work scheme with this Department.
	I understand from Transport for London that 15 of the 33 London councils promote the cycle to work scheme as a measure within their travel plans.

Departmental Buildings

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the value of the property held by  (a) her Department and  (b) associated public bodies was at the most recent date for which figures are available.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The net book value of property held by the Department and its associated bodies is provided in the following table:
	
		
			   Total (£000)  Date 
			  (a)   
			 Department for Transport, comprising the following organisational units(1): £2,209,180 31 March 2007 
			
			 Central Department   
			
			  Executive Agency   
			 Highways Agency   
			 Maritime and Coastguard Agency   
			 Government Car and Despatch Agency   
			 Vehicle Certification Agency   
			
			  Advisory Bodies   
			 Commission for Integrated Transport   
			 Disabled Persons' Transport Advisory Committee   
			
			  Tribunals   
			 Traffic Commissioners and Licensing Authorities (Traffic Areas)   
			
			 Driving Standards Agency £29,231 31 March 2007 
			 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency £15,137 31 March 2007 
			 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency £92,788 31 March 2007 
			
			  (b)   
			 British Transport Police Authority £9,152 31 March 2006 
			 Northern Lighthouse Board £17,159 31 March 2007 
			 Trinity House Lighthouse Service £15,900 31 March 2007 
			 Passenger Focus £219 31 March 2007 
			 (1 )Not possible to disaggregate costs within the disproportionate cost limits.

Departmental Buildings

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) new builds and  (b) major refurbishments were completed by her Department for a cost in excess of £0.5 million in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08 to which the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method or equivalent was applied; how many such buildings were assessed as (A) pass, (B) good, (C) very good and (D) excellent; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The following table provides details of the new build projects and major refurbishments undertaken by the Department for Transport over the last three years.
	
		
			   Build projects  BREEAM rating  Major refurbishments  BREEAM rating 
			 2005-06 1 1 x very good 0 n/a 
			 2006-07 9 8 x excellent 1 x very good 1 1 x excellent 
			 2007-08 9 8 x excellent 1 x very good 1 1 x excellent

Departmental Buildings

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) new builds and  (b) major refurbishments for a cost in excess of £0.5 million were completed by her Department and its predecessor in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The following table provides details of the new build projects and major refurbishments undertaken by the Department for Transport over the last three years.
	
		
			   Build projects  Major refurbishments 
			 2005-06 10 6 
			 2006-07 10 5 
			 2007-08 11 2

Departmental Expert Groups

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what expert groups her Department set up in each year since 1999.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Details of formal, standing bodies set up by Government to provide independent, expert advice to Departments and Ministers are published annually by the Cabinet Office. These bodies, known as advisory non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), are listed in the annual "Public Bodies" publication. "Public Bodies" also contains some details on short-term advisory groups and task forces. Copies of "Public Bodies" dating back to 1999 can be viewed and downloaded from
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/public/bodies.asp.
	Copies are also available in the Library for the reference of Members.

Departmental Inquiries

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what independent inquiries have been commissioned by her Department in the last five years; what the  (a) purpose and  (b) cost was of each; and what steps were taken following each such inquiry.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport has not commissioned any independent inquiries in the last five years.

Departmental Manpower

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many jobs her Department expects to relocate under the policy of civil service job dispersal.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The 2004 spending review set the Department for Transport the target of relocating 60 posts by the end of March 2010. As at the present date, 62 relocations have taken place, meaning that our target has been met almost two years ahead of schedule.
	The Department continues to look for further relocation opportunities, for example, through departmental reorganisation and review of estates requirements, and we expect to identify further posts suitable for relocation.

Departmental Sick Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much sick pay to staff in her Department cost in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The following table summarises responses from the Central Department, the Driving Vehicle Licensing Agency and the Highways Agency.
	
		
			  Calendar year  Total cost of sickness absence (£) 
			 2003 8,467,050 
			 2004 8,624,478 
			 2005 9,271,851 
			 2006 9,361,412 
			 2007 10,131,188 
		
	
	The increase since 2005 is in the context of the investment in 1,800 new Traffic Officers by the Highways Agency, as well as various other staff increases across the Department.
	The Driving Standards Agency can only provide the last three years data. Previous years can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  DSA 
			  Calendar year  Total cost of sickness absence (£) 
			 2005 2,768,254.00 
			 2006 3,171,791.00 
			 2007 2,775,510.00 
		
	
	The cost has been calculated as total days paid absence x average salary cost (£20,000)/working days in year 220.5.
	MCA, VCA, VOSA and GCDA could provide this information only at disproportionate cost.

Driving: EC Action

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the written ministerial statement of 11 June 2007,  Official Report, column 38WS, on drivers' hours (derogation for reservists), whether the Minister has received a response from the European Commission to the request for a derogation from regulation (EC) 561/2006; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Dialogue with the European Commission officials dealing with our request is continuing. I will inform the House when the Commission makes a final decision.

East Coast Main Line

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will place in the Library the Public Performance Measure Moving Annual Average statistics for the National Express East Coast services for each month since it took over the East Coast Main Line franchise.

Tom Harris: The figures are as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			  Period  Moving annual average 
			 0810 82.4 
			 0811 82.4 
			 0812 82.6 
			 0813 82.6 
			 0901 82.5 
			 0902 83.0

Electrification: Costs

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the cost per mile of electrifying the rail network.

Tom Harris: The cost of electrifying the railway network is currently estimated at around £800,000 per single track mile (£500,000 per single track kilometre) dependant on the complexity and constraints of the particular line.

Great Western Trains

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 25 March 2008,  Official Report, column 95W, on Great Western Trains, when the amended franchise agreements will be published.

Tom Harris: This information is now available from the Department for Transport's Public Register, the statutory commercial redactions now having been made and will be on the Department for Transport's website in due course.

Great Western Trains: Standards

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the timescale is for First Great Western to work through its notice to improve; and whether the criteria for improvement include the number of journeys where trains have been replaced by bus or taxi.

Tom Harris: The timescale for First Great Western improvement is set out in the remedial agreement, which now forms part of the First Great Western franchise agreement. This is available from the Department for Transport's Public Register and will also be available on the Department for Transport's website in due course.
	The criteria do not include the number of journeys where trains have been replaced by bus or taxi.

Heathrow Airport: Noise

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2008,  Official Report, column 1388W, on Heathrow Airport: noise, what estimates her Department has made of the proportion of current aircraft which will have been replaced by the Boeing 767 and Airbus A300/310 and A340 by  (a) 2010,  (b) 2015,  (c) 2020 and  (d) 2025; and on what information her estimates are based.

Jim Fitzpatrick: As explained in the supporting technical reports to the recent Heathrow consultation, the aircraft types mentioned are expected to be superseded by a new generation of aircraft, some of which are due to enter service imminently. Table 2.3 of the ERCD Report 0705 (Revised Future Aircraft Noise Exposure Estimates for Heathrow) as follows shows how this is reflected in the composition of the Heathrow fleet, by aircraft type, over the period to 2030.
	
		
			  Table 2.3: 16-hour average summer day air traffic forecasts for each scenario 
			  Seat Cat.  Aircraft type  2006  SM 2015  SM 2030  MM 2015  MM 2030  R3 2020  R3 2030 
			 1 Bombardier Regional Jet 5.4 0.7 0 2.3 0 0 0 
			 1 Business Jet (Ch. 3) 5.3 2.7 2.7 4 2 4 4 
			 1 Embraer EMB 135/145/170 17 0.7 0 2.3 0 0 0 
			 1 Small/Large Props 8.4 0.5 0.5 0 0.4 1 0 
			 Subtotal  36.1 4.6 3.2 8.6 2.4 5 4 
			  
			 2 Airbus A318 3.3 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 2 Airbus A319/320/321 647.3 682.7 122.3 821 159.6 656 28 
			 2 BAe 146 3.4 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 2 Boeing 737 66.2 44.4 0 57 2.5 6 19 
			 2 Embraer 190 0 0.7 0 2.3 0 0 0 
			 2 Fokker 100 2.4 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 2 Boeing MD80 29.8 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 2 Next Generation — 120/150 seat 0 0 89.4 0 224 148 396 
			 Subtotal  752.4 727.8 211.7 880.3 386.1 810 443 
			  
			 3 Airbus A300 12.8 0 0 6 0 0 0 
			 3 Airbus A310 5.9 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 3 Boeing 757-200/300 56.4 7 0 2 0 2 0 
			 3 Boeing 767-200/300 62.3 6.6 0 2 0 0 0 
			 3 Boeing MD90 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 3 Next Generation - 180 seat 0 0 211.7 0 184.2 103 507 
			 3 Next Generation - 220 seat 0 1.8 230.6 14 325.9 372 330 
			 Subtotal  137.4 15.4 442.3 24 510.1 477 837 
			  
			 4 Airbus A330-200/300 34.1 46.5 0.1 45 1.2 6 0 
			 4 Airbus A340-200/300 35.3 7.5 0 6 0 2 0 
			 4 Boeing 777-200 105.2 87.7 0.1 161 8.8 39 6 
			 4 Next Generation — 250/300 Seat 0 45.6 244.6 66 183.7 190 252 
			 4 Boeing MD11 0.9 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 4 Others 0.6 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Subtotal  176.1 187.3 244.8 278 193.7 237 258 
			  
			 5 Airbus A340-500/600 21.2 56.7 5.3 39 0 20 0 
			 5 Boeing 747-100/200/300/SP 5.4 0 0 2 0 0 0 
			 5 Boeing 747-400 110.6 72.7 0 62 0 4 0 
			 5 Boeing 747-8 0 4.2 8.6 5 81 119 11 
			 5 Boeing 777-300 8.7 133.3 93.1 106 102 148 138 
			 5 Next Generation - 450 seat 0 0 121.6 0 55.4 0 119 
			 Subtotal  145.9 266.9 228.6 214 238.4 291 268 
			  
			 6 Airbus A380-800 0 74.8 146.1 46 123.2 91 98 
			  
			 Subtotal  0 74.8 146.1 46 123.2 91 98 
			  
			 Total  1248 1277 1277 1451 1454 1911 1908 
			 SM—Segregated-mode use of existing runways MM—Mixed-mode use of existing runways R3—Third runway operated in mixed-mode, main runways operated in segregated mode

Heathrow Airport: Security

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions she has had with  (a) BA and  (b) BAA on security breaches at Heathrow Terminal 5 since the terminal opened to the public.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department investigates alleged security breaches at UK airports. Our inspectors work closely with all parties involved to ensure that robust action plans are developed where appropriate and we monitor implementation of these measures.

Heysham-M6 Link Scheme

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what discussions her Department has had with Lancashire County Council on the park and ride measures in the Heysham-M6 link scheme;
	(2)  if she will allocate funding to congestion relief measures in  (a) Lancaster and  (b) Morecambe if funding for the Heysham-M6 link road is approved;
	(3)  what assessment she has made of the contribution of park and ride schemes to the Heysham-M6 link scheme.

Rosie Winterton: The Department is currently in discussion with Lancashire county council on this scheme and expects to agree its approach to funding and appraisal, including of the park and ride element, shortly. No formal value for money assessment has been concluded to date.
	It is for Lancashire county council to decide what if any additional measures should be taken forward beyond what is in their bid to the Department. The Department already provides significant funding to Lancashire—£28.1 million for the current financial year—through the LTP block funding allocations which could be used to fund any further complementary congestion relief measures.

Heysham-M6 Link Scheme

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies have spent on work relating to the proposed Heysham-M6 link road since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: It is not possible to quantify the Department's expenditure on the assessment of individual schemes. DFT officials are examining the major scheme business case submitted by Lancashire county council in accordance with existing guidance for local major transport schemes. As part of this work, the Department commissioned a specific independent review of the business case at a cost of £18,822. Due to the effects of the scheme on the strategic road network, the Highways Agency also spent approximately £16,500 on their review of assessment work submitted by Lancashire county council as part of their planning application.

Heysham-M6 Link Scheme

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions she has had with  (a) environmental groups,  (b) Lancashire County Council and  (c) hon. Members representing local constituencies on the proposals for an M6-Heysham link road.

Rosie Winterton: The Secretary of State has not held any meetings with the aforementioned groups on proposals for an M6-Heysham link road.

High Speed Trains: Consultants

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much her Department had spent on consultancy fees on the Intercity Express programme at the latest date for which figures are available.

Tom Harris: The Department for Transport has spent £9.4 million since the start of this project in 2005.

Highways Agency: Appeals

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what methods of redress are available to members of the public who wish to challenge decisions taken by the Highways Agency.

Tom Harris: The methods of redress will depend on the nature of any decision and the means by which that decision is challenged.
	Members of the public may, for example, seek to challenge decisions taken by the Highways Agency through statutory rights of appeal, judicial review, complaints to the Office of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and also the Agency's formal complaints procedure.

Highways Agency: Appeals

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many applications for judicial review were made in relation to the Highways Agency in each of the last 10 years.

Tom Harris: A comprehensive list is not available, but of the three cases identifiable in the last 10 years the most recent case was in 2007 and concerns the closure of a gap in the central reservation on the A30 west of Exeter at Fingle Glen.

Lorries: Accidents

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents involving foreign-registered lorries there were in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In 2007, the number of reported personal injury road accidents involving foreign registered heavy goods vehicles in Great Britain was 919. Details on damage only accidents are not collected by the Department for Transport.

Lorries: Fuels

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department supports training for the HGV industry on the efficient use of fuel.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Under our Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving (SAFED) programme some 12,000 HGV drivers have been trained via demonstration programmes with funding from the Department for Transport and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs since 2003. Further SAFED training is being supported with Government funding up to 2010 to encourage transition to fully commercial delivery of SAFED by the trainers.
	The Department funds the Freight Best Practice programme which provides free guides, case studies and software to help the freight industry further improve fuel efficiency and operational efficiency. The programme includes material for Developing Skills, with guides and case studies for SAFED, plus films and pocket guides for fuel efficiency. Over 2005 and 2006 the industry achieved savings of 240,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide directly attributed to use of the programme.

Motor Vehicles: Licensing

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will reduce the period within which a vehicle registered overseas and brought to Great Britain must be registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Different orders and EC directives mean that the UK Government cannot define the period during which a foreign registered vehicle is exempt from the requirement to be registered and licensed with DVLA. However, the Motor Vehicles (International Circulation) Order 1975 states that a vehicle which is properly registered and licensed in its home country may be used by the visitor for up to six months in a 12-month period without the need to register and licence in the host country.

Motorway Service Areas: Cash Dispensing

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance her Department provides to motorway service area (MSA) operators on the provision of automated teller machines which do not charge for cash withdrawals; if she will hold discussions with MSA operators to seek an increase in the number of free-of-charge machines at MSAs; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: The Department for Transport does not require operators to provide cash machines at motorway service areas. Service areas are private operations and the decision as to whether to provide cash machines lies with the site operator. Department officials meet regularly with service area operators. I will ask them to raise the matter in the course of those discussions to encourage the provision of more free-of-charge machines.

Motorway Service Areas: Food

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance her Department provides on the provision of hot food and drink at motorway service areas (MSAs); whether MSA operators are required to provide hot food and drink for 24 hours a day; and what guidance her Department provides to operators on prices of food and drinks at MSAs.

Tom Harris: Government policy on the provision of motorway service areas is contained within Department for Transport Circular 01/2008. This circular requires motorway service area operators to provide hot drinks 24 hours a day for every day of the year. Hot food must be available between the hours of 6am and 10pm every day of the year.
	As motorway service areas are privately operated the Government do not provide guidance to operators on the prices of food and drinks at service areas.

Network Rail: Litter

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how much was spent by Network Rail on litter collection from land for which it is the responsible authority in each year since 2002;
	(2)  whether her Department monitors Network Rail's performance in fulfilling its duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to remove litter from the railway network; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  how many cases Network Rail have brought to a magistrates court under the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 on litter and fly-tipping in each year since 2002.

Tom Harris: These are operational matters for Network Rail as the owner and operator of the national rail network. Network Rail is a private sector company limited by guarantee. It has its own operational policies on litter and fly-tipping clearance, consistent with current legislation—the Environmental Protection Act 1990 as amended by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005. It operates under a network licence enforced and amended by the independent Office of Rail Regulation.
	Licence condition 8 requires Network Rail to establish and review a written policy—its annual Safety and Environment Plan—to protect the environment from the effect of its licensed activities.
	Each plan sets out how Network Rail intends to continue its systematic improvement of the control of key risks and compliance with new legislation to improve the safety, health and environment delivery performance of the national network.
	The hon. Member should contact Network Rail's chief executive at the following address for additional information in response to his questions:
	Iain Coucher
	Chief Executive
	Network Rail
	40 Melton street
	London, NW1 2EE.

Official Cars

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what the total cost of providing cars and drivers for Ministers was in each year since 1997, broken down by Department;
	(2)  how many cars were available for use by Ministers in each year since 1997; and how many were used by each Department in each such year.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) is responsible for providing ministerial transport in line with the Ministerial Code.
	The following tables show the number of ministerial cars provided to each Department since 2000-01 together with the annual contracted costs. Information for earlier years could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost. Information on numbers and costs for 2005-06 and 2006-07 were given in a written ministerial statement made by the Secretary of State for Transport on 26 July 2007,  Official Report, columns 109-11WS.
	
		
			   2000-01  2001-02  Post General Election 2001  2002-03 
			  Department  Number of cars  Annual contracted value (£)  Number of cars  Annual contracted value (£)  Number of cars  Annual contracted value (£)  Number of cars  Annual contracted value (£) 
			 Cabinet Office(1) 12 722,200 13 813,000 13 816,700 8 440,800 
			 ODPM(4) — — — — — — 6 333,600 
			 DCMS 4 214,800 4 222,000 4 222,400 4 230,500 
			 DETR(2) 8 402,700 9 464,200 — — — — 
			 DfEE/DfES(4) 8 400,000 8 412,600 7 351,200 6 317,000 
			 DFID 2 94,500 2 96,800 1 50,000 2 92,200 
			 DSS(2) 5 246,100 5 253,400 — — — — 
			 DTI 6 289,000 6 313,900 6 313,900 6 321,700 
			 FCO 5 256,500 5 263,800 6 315,800 5 258,000 
			 Department of Health 6 307,200 6 316,600 7 369,500 6 325,500 
			 HM Treasury 5 263,900 5 271,200 5 271,500 5 285,800 
			 Home Office 5 243,000 4 208,800 6 332,400 7 399,900 
			 Lord Chancellor's Department(4) 3 165,800 3 170,400 4 223,600 4 233,200 
			 Law Officers 1 49,900 1 51,300 2 103,700 2 105,500 
			 MAFF(2) 4 210,700 4 218,200 — — — — 
			 MOD(3) 1 53,000 1 54,500 1 54,500 1 63,000 
			 Northern Ireland Office 3 239,800 3 247,300 3 247,300 4 205,100 
			 Privy Council Office 3 170,900 2 113,800 2 113,800 2 120,800 
			 Scotland Office 2 96,500 2 100,800 2 98,400 2 100,400 
			 Wales Office 2 121,100 2 122,900 2 122,900 2 127,200 
			 DEFRA(2) — — — — 5 268,000 5 285,900 
			 DTLR/DfT(2,4) — — — — 7 373,500 3 173,700 
			 DWP(2) 6 315,900 6 328,600 
			 Total 85 4,547,600 85 4,715,500 89 4,965,000 86 4,748,400 
			 (1) The Cabinet Office figures include cars for the Prime Minster's Office, the Government Chief Whip and the Minister without Portfolio.  (2) DETR, DSS, and MAFF were reorganised after the 2001 General Election.  (3) GCS provided a car and driver to the Secretary of State for Defence only until 2003. Since then no cars or drivers have been provided to the MOD.  (4) Takes into account Machinery of Government changes. 
		
	
	
		
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			  Department  Number of cars  Annual contracted value (£)  Number of cars  Annual contracted value (£)  Number of cars  Annual contracted value (£)  Number of cars  Annual contracted value (£) 
			 Cabinet Office(1) 8 472,100 8 487,400 10 626,300 8 531,700 
			 ODPM/DCLG(3) 6 321,800 6 366,800 6 392,400 6 393,900 
			 DCMS 4 235,600 4 255,000 4 275,300 4 279,600 
			 DfEE/DfES 7 384,900 7 399,200 7 457,400 7 464,900 
			 DFID 2 107,600 2 119,800 2 130,400 2 132,200 
			 DTI 5 275,500 5 286,300 6 325,500 6 325,500 
			 FCO(2) 4 214,500 4 231,700 5 298,100 5 324,500 
			 Department of Health 6 425,200 6 382,200 6 380,600 6 387,100 
			 HM Treasury 5 295,400 5 303,300 5 342,500 5 346,700 
			 Home Office 7 408,900 7 386,900 7 478,100 7 487,500 
			 DCA 4 230,400 4 248,300 5 319,900 5 339,000 
			 Law Officers 2 106,400 2 113,100 2 132,100 2 133,900 
			 Northern Ireland Office(4) 5 362,600 5 373,700 5 438,400 5 434,400 
			 Privy Council Office 1 56,000 3 195,400 3 142,200 3 204,100 
			 Scotland Office(5,6) 1 49,200 1 56,700 1 61,100 1 62,200 
			 Wales Office(4) 2 130,100 1 66,400 1 74,700 1 74,600 
			 DEFRA 5 286,000 5 294,700 5 324,200 5 323,300 
			 DTLR/DfT(5) 4 232,600 4 239,200 4 261,900 4 263,300 
			 DWP 6 339,400 6 357,500 6 406,400 5 407,800 
			 Total 84 4,934,200 85 5,163,600 90 5,867,500 87 5,916,200 
			 (1) Cabinet figures include cars for Ministers in the Cabinet Office, the Prime Minister's Office, the Chief Whip in the House of Commons, the Minister without Portfolio and the Deputy Prime Minister (since May 2006).  (2 )The Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs was a post held jointly between the FCO and the DTI. THE GCS costs were met by the FCO.  (3) Machinery of Government changes in May 2006 created the DCLG and the Deputy Prime Minister's Office from the DPO.  (4) The right hon. Peter Hain MP was both Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Secretary of State for Wales. GCS costs were met by the NIO.  (5) The right hon. Douglas Alexander MP was both Secretary of State for Transport and Secretary of State for Scotland. GCS costs were met by DfT.  (6) The GCS car and driver provided to the Scotland Office was shared by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and the Advocate General.

Official Cars

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what account is taken of levels of carbon dioxide emissions arising from the manufacture and importation of cars in deciding which cars are available for Ministers to use.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 26 June 2008
	No account is taken of the manufacturing process when purchasing vehicles. There is no requirement for car manufacturers to state the overall environmental impact of the manufacturing process. However, the Government Car and Despatch Agency is set targets by Ministers to reduce tailpipe emissions and use alternative engine and fuel technologies in its fleet.

Parking

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the capacity is of car parking facilities at each building operated by her Department and its agencies.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The requested information has been placed in the Library of the House.
	Data for the Driving Standards Agency and a listing by building for the regional sites operated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Railways: Pensioners

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government plan to take to encourage railway companies to make fares more affordable to pensioners.

Tom Harris: Older people are already entitled to discounted travel on the national rail network through the Senior Railcard which is available for £24 per year, and gives around one-third off most rail fares. The scheme is run by the Association of Train Operating Companies and all train operators are required by the Department for Transport to participate.

Railways: Standards

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent steps the Government have taken to promote the interests of railway customers.

Tom Harris: Last year we committed £10 billion to deliver the biggest single increase in rail capacity for a generation. This includes the delivery of 1,300 extra train carriages to run longer trains.
	As we undertook in last year's rail White Paper, a new system of simplified fares was announced in April this year.
	We have also asked Passenger Focus to assess how well the current system of fares and ticketing meets passengers' expectations so that we can consider the options for further improvement.

Railways: Standards

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government have taken to hold the railway industry to account for major disruptions in service to customers.

Tom Harris: Network Rail is regulated by the Office of Rail Regulation who take enforcement action in the event of the company breaching its network licence.
	The Department for Transport monitors the performance of passenger train operating companies, and takes action in the event of a contravention of the franchise agreement.

Railways: West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent steps the Government have taken to improve railway services in the West Midlands.

Tom Harris: The following improvements are planned for the West Midlands:
	more and faster long-distance trains on the West Coast Main Line;
	increased capacity on Cross-country trains;
	new trains on West Midlands suburban services;
	increased capacity on Birmingham suburban services;
	re-construction of Birmingham New Street station, and improvements to other West Midlands stations; and
	expected extension of the Birmingham Cross-city route to Bromsgrove.

Roads

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many A roads have been passed from local authority to Highways Agency control in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: holding answer 26 June 2008
	Since June 2003, two long sections of road were transferred from the local authority to Highways Agency control: the A2070 between Brenzett and junction 10 of the M20 in September 2003 and the A120 between Stansted and Marks Tey in Essex in March 2005.
	The "New Deal for Trunk Roads in England", published in 1998, proposed de-trunking the A259 between Brenzett and Folkestone and trunking the A2070 from Brenzett to the M20 as an alternative strategic route.

Roads: Accidents

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research her Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the likely effects on the incidence of death and serious injury on the roads of altering the operation of Greenwich Mean Time and British Summer Time.

Jim Fitzpatrick: A Government commissioned report by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) published in October 1998 concluded that, if the UK adopted single/double summertime (i.e. GMT plus one hour in the winter, from October to March, and GMT plus two hours in the summer, from March to October) thereby making the evenings lighter, there could be a reduction in road casualties of over 400 people killed or seriously injured per year in Great Britain, including 100 deaths.

Roads: Accidents

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the number of road traffic accidents which took place in the week commencing  (a) 24 March and  (b) 31 March 2008.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested is not available. The road accident data for year 2008 will be available in June 2009.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she expects repair work on the A673 at Heath Charnock to be completed; and when she expects the road to be re-opened.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 26 June 2008
	I understand from Lancashire county council that a contractor started on site on 23 of June and that they expect works to be complete for re-opening on 1 July 2008.

Speed Limits: Schools

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what procedures there are for schools to apply for a 20 mph limit on the roads around their locations.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Local traffic authorities are responsible for setting local speed limits. This includes 20 mph limits, which local traffic authorities have had powers to set since 1999. If a school board considers a 20 mph speed limit would be appropriate outside their school, they should contact their local authority who will then consider the request.
	The Department for Transport encourages and supports local authorities wishing to introduce 20 mph speed limits and 20 mph zones on their roads, particularly on roads around schools. We provide guidance to them on setting local speed limits and on a wide range of traffic calming measures designed to reduce vehicle speeds in a variety of circumstances.

Thameslink: Rolling Stock

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date she expects the first new rolling stock for the Thameslink programme to come into use.

Tom Harris: The Thameslink Programme is planning to commence some 12 car operations on existing routes from December 2011 using existing rolling stock within the national fleet. It is currently planned that new Thameslink rolling stock will commence introduction into service from early 2012.

Transport: Competition

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent steps the Government have taken to promote competition in the transport industry.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport has a procurement directorate who manage the Department's procurement procedures including the award of contracts. The Department's procurement procedures are designed to align with EU treaty requirements, procurement legislation and Treasury regulations. Full details of the procedures are published on the DFT website under "Procurement".

Transport: Fuels

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the effect on  (a) road haulage firms and  (b) other transport companies of the recent rise in fuel costs.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	Government recognise the impact that oil prices are having on motorists at the moment, including road haulage and transport companies, as well as families.
	In response, the Chancellor is working with G7/8 and G20 partners to improve the functioning of international oil market by enhancing market transparency, improving global energy efficiency and addressing barriers to investment in new supply. The Chancellor also announced that the planned 2p per litre fuel duty increase scheduled for 1 April would be deferred to 1 October.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Grants

Francis Maude: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission pursuant to the answer of 3 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1142W, on Electoral Commission: grants, what steps the Commission is taking to monitor the expenditure by these organisations to ensure that section 1.3 of the terms and conditions is not breached.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that every organisation that receives a grant is required to submit quarterly and annual reports on its project's progress. No money is paid until these reports have been checked to ensure that funded activities are within the scope of the project.
	In addition, Commission staff regularly attend project workshops and events to ensure they are being delivered as specified. Each project is also subject to a formal monitoring visit every year to ensure it is complying with the terms and conditions of the grant.

Morning Star

Francis Maude: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how many copies of the  Morning Star publication the Electoral Commission subscribes to each week; and at what cost.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it does not subscribe to the  Morning Star.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Departmental Buildings

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department has spent on  (a) new capital investment and  (b) refurbishment of property in each of the last 10 years, broken down by project.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information for the last four years at project level is provided in the following table. Information at project level for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Summary information on my Department's spending on additions to fixed assets from 1999-2000 onwards is available in the published resource accounts. No expenditure has been incurred on new capital investment in property over the past four years.
	
		
			  DCMS refurbishment projects 
			  £000 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			  (b) Refurbishment projects 
			 Refurbishment of DCMS Headquarters, Cockspur St — 441 6,985 1,252 
			 Renewal of chillers and air handling plant — — 599 298 
			 Other Leasehold Improvements — 10 9  
			 Fusiliers Building (Tower of London) — — — 600 
			 Total — 451 7,593 2,150

Departmental Conferences

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the conferences hosted by his Department in each of the last two years; and what the cost was of each conference.

Margaret Hodge: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport hosted the following conferences in the years 2006-07 and 2007-08. Costs quoted are excluding VAT.
	
		
			   £ 
			  2006-07  
			 2012 Delivering for the UK (Olympic Regional Business Summit) 102,391 
			 International Summit on Remote Gambling 49,291 
			   
			  2007-08  
			 DCMS Audit Committee Conference 6,382

Departmental Pay

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many and what proportion of staff in his Department received bonus payments in each of the last five years; what the total amount of bonuses paid has been; what the largest single payment was in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information is in the table;
	
		
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Number of staff awarded bonuses 169 215 172 240 265 
			 Proportion of workforce (percentage) 36.7 42.5 33.7 47.0 51.4 
			 Total cost of bonuses 106,128 206,643 215,285 293,241 413,160 
			 Largest single bonus 3,500 5,000 7,000 6,000 10,000 
		
	
	The Department makes bonus payments to its staff for two purposes:  (a) special bonuses to reward outstanding contributions in particularly demanding tasks or situations; and  (b) performance bonuses to reward highly successful performance over a whole year. The performance bonuses for 2007-08 have not been paid yet.

English Sports Council: Expenditure

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many sports were funded by Sport England's World Class funding programme in each year since 1999.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Sport England funded the following number of sports from its World Class funding programme:
	 1999- 20 00: 17
	In addition, an award was also made to the British Paralympic Association to support various disability sports. An award was also made to UK Sport to support the Athlete Lifestyle Services programme across a number of different sports.
	 2000-01: 29
	In addition, two awards were also made to UK Sport to support the Athlete Lifestyle Services programme across a number of different sports.
	 2001-02: 28
	In addition, two awards were also made to UK Sport to support the Athlete Lifestyle Services programme across a number of different sports.
	 2002-03: 25
	 2003-04: 24
	In addition, an award was made to UK Sport to support the Athlete Lifestyle Services programme across a number of different sports.
	 2004-05: 21
	In addition, an award was made to UK Sport to support the Athlete Lifestyle Services programme across a number of different sports.
	 2005-06: 9

English Sports Council: Expenditure

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been spent by Sport England through their World Class revenue programmes in each year since 1999.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Sport England spent the following amounts through their World Class revenue programmes in each year since 1999:
	
		
			  Financial year  Total (£) 
			 1999-2000 12,983,763 
			 2000-01 120,599,171 
			 2001-02 83,893,415 
			 2002-03 71,915,401 
			 2003-04 29,742,740 
			 2004-05 11,557,543 
			 2005-06 521,492 
			 Total 331,213,525

English Sports Council: Expenditure

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been spent by Sport England on sports ground safety through the Football Trust and Sports Ground Initiative since 1999.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The total expenditure for sports ground safety through the Football Trust and Sports Ground Initiative since 1999 is £6,767,549.

English Sports Council: Football

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by Sport England via the Football Youth Development programme in each year since 1999.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Sport England has spent via the Football Youth Development programme in each year since 1999:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 1998-99 5 
			 1999-2000 5 
			 2000-01 5 
			 2001-02 5 
			 2002-03 2.5 
			 2003-04 2.5 
			 2004-05 2.5 
			 2005-06 2.5

Historic Buildings: Theft

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of carved stones and ornamental objects stolen from the grounds of  (a) ruined abbeys and church buildings and  (b) castles and monuments in the care of English Heritage in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: According to English Heritage, there has been only one instance of carved stones or ornamental objects stolen from the grounds of ruined abbeys, church buildings, castles or monuments in its care since January 2004. Information on years before that date is not available.

Public Holidays

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on establishing St. George's Day as a bank holiday.

Margaret Hodge: None. The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform is responsible for bank holidays and there are currently no plans to change the present well-established and accepted pattern of bank holidays in this country.

Sport Action Zones

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment Sport England has made of sport action zones; and what reports have been commissioned on their operation.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Sport England commissioned Ipsos Mori to carry out a study of four of the Sport Action Zones (SAZ) between October 2005 and January 2006, comparing baseline data collected in 2001-02 on levels of participation in sport and attitudes towards sports provision among residents.
	In addition to Ipsos Mori's study, Sport England's Policy Team produced a detailed summary report on the lessons learnt from the SAZ, Active Communities Development Fund and Active Communities Manager's Projects in 2007. This report is titled "Impact in 3D".
	Both reports will be placed in the House Libraries shortly.

Sports: Finance

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to how many new or enhanced facilities requiring funding over £100,000 Sport England allocated funding through their Community Projects Capital Fund in each year since 1999; and how many of these facilities were based on education sites.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The numbers of new or enhanced facilities requiring funding over £100,000 which have been funded through the Sport England Community Projects Capital Fund in each year since 1999, as provided by Sport England, are tabled as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			  Financial Year  New or enhanced facilities funded through the Sport England Community Projects Capital Fund  Facilities based on sites of educational organisations 
			 1999-2000 135 20 
			 2000-01 133 23 
			 2001-02 154 19 
			 2002-03 134 26 
			 2003-04 76 12 
			 2004-05 32 4 
			 2005-06 9 2 
			 2006-07 8 Not available

Sports: Finance

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to how many new or enhanced facilities requiring funding under £100,000 Sport England allocated funding through their Community Projects Capital Fund in each year since 1999; and how many of these facilities were deemed to have significantly benefited people from ethnic minority communities in each year.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The numbers of new or enhanced facilities requiring funding under £100,000 and which have been allocated funding through the Sport England Community Projects Capital Fund, as provided by Sport England, in each year since 1999 are tabled as follows:
	
		
			  New or enhanced facilities requiring funding under £100,000, which have been funded through the Sport England Community Projects Capital Fund 
			  Financial Year  Number 
			 1999-2000 190 
			 2000-01 104 
			 2001-02 90 
			 2002-03 118 
			 2003-04 21 
			 2004-05 16 
			 2005-06 4 
			 2006-07 1 
		
	
	Information is not available about how many of these facilities are deemed to have significantly benefited people from ethnic minorities in each year. However, Sport England remains committed to working with funding partners to increase participation amongst all groups, including ethnic minorities.

Sports: Finance

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many small awards Sport England made in each year since 1999.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The number of small awards made by Sport England in each year since 1999, as provided by Sport England, is as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  Number of small awards( 1)  made by Sport England 
			 1999-2000 208 
			 2000-01 119 
			 2001-02 165 
			 2002-03 130 
			 2003-04 81 
			 2004-05 154 
			 2005-06 315 
			 2006-07 164 
			 (1) For the purpose of this response, the definition of small awards is up to £10,000. These figures include Lottery and Exchequer funding.

Sports: Finance

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of Sport England's funding has been spent on the Community Projects Fund since 1999.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The proportion of Sports England's funding which has been spent on the Community Projects Fund since 1999, as provided by Sport England, is as follows:
	
		
			  Financial Year  Proportion of funding spent on the Community Projects Fund (percentage) 
			 1998-99 95 
			 1999-2000 89 
			 2000-01 51 
			 2001-02 72 
			 2002-03 60 
			 2003-04 63 
			 2004-05 71 
			 2005-06 39 
			 2006-07 26 
			 2007-08 81

Strip Clubs

Lynda Waltho: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will take steps to assist local authorities to  (a) regulate lap dancing clubs and  (b) take the views of the local community into account when determining licensing policy on lap dancing clubs.

Vernon Coaker: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government are consulting with local authorities on any concerns they have which they feel cannot be addressed by existing controls, including the Licensing Act 2003 and whether we need to do more to protect local communities. We do recognise that people do not necessarily want lap-dancing establishments in their neighbourhoods and we want to ensure local authorities have the powers to reflect the views of local people when considering applications. We will therefore consider whether or not lap-dancing clubs should fall under the category of sex encounter establishments under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 and legislate if this is necessary.

Visit Britain: USA

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the annual cost of running the Visit Britain office in New York was in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Margaret Hodge: VisitBritain's total grant in aid investment in the New York office is £3.0 million for 2007-08. This also includes marketing and support costs for Americas Hub activity.

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Departmental Pay

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many and what proportion of employees of the Government Equalities Office who received a performance-related bonus at their last appraisal were  (a) male,  (b) female,  (c) from an ethnic minority,  (d) disabled and  (e) not heterosexual; and if she will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: The Government Equalities Office was established on 12 October 2007 and will not complete its first performance appraisal round until the end of June 2008.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Abortion: Young People

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many girls under the age of 17  (a) gave birth and  (b) had an abortion in (i) Essex and (ii) England in 2007.

Tom Watson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 30 June 2008:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many girls under the age of 17 (a) gave birth and (b) had an abortion in (i) Essex and (ii) England in 2007. (214074)
	Available figures are estimates of the number of conceptions that resulted in a live birth, stillbirth or legal termination.
	The Office for National Statistics does not routinely publish conception figures for girls aged under 17 by local authority. Figures are however available for conceptions to girls aged under 18 and these have been provided.
	Number of conceptions leading to maternities and abortions for girls aged under 18 for 2006 (latest year for which figures are available) are shown in the table below. Figures for 2006 are provisional.
	
		
			  Number of conceptions to girls aged under 18 leading to a maternity and an abortion England and Essex for 2006. 
			  Area  Conceptions leading to a maternity  Conceptions leading to an abortion  Total conceptions 
			 England 19,935 19,068 39,003 
			 Essex 388 451 839 
			  Note:  Conceptions for 2006 are provisional.

Cancer: Essex

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people were diagnosed with cancer in  (a) Romford and  (b) Essex in each of the last five years.

Tom Watson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 30 June 2008:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people were diagnosed with cancer in (a) Romford and (b) Essex in each of the last five years
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases (incidence) of cancer are for the year 2005. Figures requested are given in the table below.
	
		
			  Numbers of newly diagnosed cases of cancer( 1)  registered in Romford parliamentary constituency and Essex county, 2001 to 2005 
			  Persons 
			   Romford  Essex 
			 2001 392 6,117 
			 2002 332 6,027 
			 2003 399 6,189 
			 2004 355 5,926 
			 2005 340 6,688 
			 (1) All cancers, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer, are classified according to the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10): C00-C97 excluding C44.  Source: Office for National Statistics

Childbirth: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many live births there were in the Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 30 June 2008:
	As the National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question about how many live births there were in the Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in each year since 1997. (214806)
	Figures on live births in hospitals are available from birth registration information. The latest available figures by place of birth are for 2006. The table below shows the figures requested for the calendar years 1997 to 2006. The Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation trust was founded in April 2004. The data on live births refer to those occurring in the following hospitals that are now part of the trust: Peterborough District Maternity Unit, Peterborough District Hospital, Stamford and Rutland Hospital and Edith Cavell Hospital. The vast majority of these births took place in Peterborough District Maternity Unit. Figures on births occurring at home or elsewhere within a specific NHS Trust are not available from birth registration.
	
		
			  Live births in hospitals in Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, 1997 to 2006 
			   Number of live births 
			 1997 3,451 
			 1998 3,448 
			 1999 3,406 
			 2000 3,321 
			 2001 3,266 
			 2002 3,303 
			 2003 3,429 
			 2004 3,539 
			 2005 3,474 
			 2006 3,716

Death: Pressure Sores

Paul Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many deaths there were where pressure ulcers were listed on the death certificate as a contributory cause of death in each region in each of the last five years.

Tom Watson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 30 June 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many deaths there were where pressure ulcers were listed on the death certificate as a contributory cause of death in each region in each of the last five years. (214460)
	The attached table provides the number of deaths where pressure ulcer was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, for government office regions in England, for 2002 to 2006 (the latest year available).
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of deaths with any mention of pressure ulcer on the death certificate,( 1 ) Government office regions, England,( 2)  2002-06( 3) 
			  Deaths (persons) 
			  Region  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 North East 73 64 50 68 51 
			 North West 152 155 138 160 139 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 67 84 69 79 78 
			 East Midlands 66 86 75 85 74 
			 West Midlands 132 135 127 141 122 
			 East of England 117 121 122 122 128 
			 London 125 105 103 114 142 
			 South East 139 148 132 137 133 
			 South West 73 75 59 75 68 
			 England 944 973 875 981 935 
			 (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code L89 (Decubitus ulcer, bedsore, plaster ulcer or pressure ulcer) where it appeared anywhere on the death certificate.  (2) Based on boundaries as of 2008.  (3) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year.

Death: Smoking

David Crausby: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many deaths were due to a smoking-related illness in  (a) Bolton and  (b) the UK in each of the last five years.

Tom Watson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated June 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many deaths were due to smoking-related illness in  (a) Bolton and  (b) the UK in each of the last five years. (215393)
	Deaths due to smoking-related illness cannot be directly estimated, as smoking status is not included on the death certificate. However, research published by the then Health Development Agency in 2004 suggested that, in the period 1998-2002, some 17 per cent of all deaths in UK were attributable to smoking.(1)
	(1) Twigg L, Moon G, Walker S (2004) The smoking epidemic in England. London; Health Development Agency.

Death: Winter

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people resident in Peterborough city council area over the age of 65 years died during the winter months in each year since 2004; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated June 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people resident in Peterborough city council area over the age of 65 years died during the winter months in each year since 2004. (214572)
	The table attached provides the number of deaths in winter (the months December to March inclusive) of people resident in Peterborough unitary authority over the age of 65, for the years 2003/04 to 2005/06 (the latest available).
	
		
			  Table 1: Deaths in winter of persons over the age of 65( 1) , Peterborough unitary authority( 2) , 2003-04 to 2005-06 
			  Winter  Deaths 
			 2003-04 394 
			 2004-05 432 
			 2005-06 440 
			 (1) Deaths in winter were defined as those occurring in December of one year, plus those occurring in January to March of the following year. (2) Using boundaries as of 2008 for all years.

Departmental Conferences

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the  (a) scheduled date and  (b) title was of each conference proposed to be hosted by his Department and its agency which was cancelled before taking place in each of the last 10 years; and what costs were incurred in respect of each.

Edward Miliband: I refer the hon. Member to my response to him of 20 June 2008,  Official Report, column 1243W.

Departmental Correspondence

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimate he has made of the volume of  (a) memoranda,  (b) e-mails,  (c) letters,  (d) other communications sent by members of his Department to destinations (i) within the Cabinet Office, (ii) in the Central Office of Information and (iii) in No. 10 Downing Street and (iv) in other Government departments since June 2007; and what estimate he has made of the cost.

Phil Hope: The Cabinet Office has made no estimate of the volume and cost of  (a) memoranda,  (b) e-mails,  (c) letters,  (d) other communications sent by members of his Department to destinations (i) within the Cabinet Office, (ii) in the Central Office of Information and (iii) in No. 10 Downing street and other Government Departments since June 2007.

Employment: North West

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many  (a) part-time and  (b) full-time jobs there were in (i) Chorley, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) the North West in each year since 1997.

Tom Watson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated June 2008:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on how many  (a) part-time and  (b) full-time jobs there were in (i) Chorley, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) the North West in each year since 1997. (213647)
	The Office for National Statistics compiles employment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) and its predecessor the annual Labour Force Survey (LFS). This is the preferred source for estimates at the detailed level requested although the estimates refer to the number of people in employment rather than the number of jobs.
	The attached table provides estimates of the number of people aged 16 and over, in full and part-time employment, resident in Chorley, Lancashire and the North West.
	As some of these estimates are for a subset of the population in small geographical areas, they are based on small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty.
	
		
			  Number of people, aged 16 and over, in full and part-time( 1)  employment, resident in Chorley parliamentary constituency( 2) , Lancashire( 3)  and the north-west( 4) ,1998-2007 
			  Thousand 
			   Chorley( 2)  Lancashire( 3)  North West( 4) 
			  12 months ending  Full-time  Part-time  Total  Full-time  Part-time  Total  Full-time  Part-time  Total 
			  February  
			 1998(5) 33 12 46 383 124 507 2,205 707 2,912 
			 1999(5) 39 10 49 378 129 507 2,205 724 2,929 
			 2000(5) 44 8 53 392 126 517 2,241 714 2,955 
			 2001(5) 40 9 49 385 123 508 2,251 716 2,967 
			 2002(5) 40 10 50 386 125 511 2,266 732 2,998 
			 2003(5) 36 13 48 385 137 522 2,287 736 3,023 
			 2004(5) 33 16 49 406 149 555 2,321 780 3,101 
			   
			  March  
			 2005(6) 38 13 52 397 136 533 2,356 763 3,119 
			 2006(6) 34 15 50 406 136 542 2,377 762 3,140 
			 2007(6) 41 13 55 407 132 539 2,372 780 3,152 
			 (1) Includes those full-time and part-time on New Deal.  (2) 1995 parliamentary constituency boundary to February 2004, 2005 parliamentary constituency boundary revision thereafter.  (3) Local authority district.  (4) Government office region.  (5) Based on annual Labour Force Survey (LFS).  (6) Based on Annual Population Survey (APS).   Notes:  1. As these estimates are for a subset of the population in a small geographical area, they are based on small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty.  2. Due to rounding the totals may not sum.   Source:  Annual Population Survey and annual Labour Force Survey.

Heads of Government Summit

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether the contract for the provision of the facilities for the Heads of Government Summit held on 5 April was put out to competitive tender.

Meg Munn: I have been asked to reply.
	No individual contract for the provision of the facilities for the Progressive Governance summit in April was put out to competitive tender by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).
	The Progressive Governance summit on 5 April was an inter-governmental summit, responsibility for which fell to the Government who were liable for the costs. The FCO made a contribution to the costs which included the hire of the hotel and for the provision of media facilities.

Heads of Government Summit

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the total cost of the Heads of Government Summit held on 5 April was; and how much was spent on  (a) accommodation,  (b) transport,  (c) conference room hire,  (d) food,  (e) alcoholic drinks,  (f) soft drinks and  (g) other.

Meg Munn: I have been asked to reply.
	The total cost to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the Progressive Governance summit was £287,790.92.
	The breakdown is shown as follows:
	
		
			   Cost (£) 
			 Accommodation 1,141.70 
			 Transport 3,325.83 
			 Conference room hire 28,400.00 
			 Food 16,996.00 
			 Alcoholic drinks 581.50 
			 Soft drinks (including juice, tea, coffee and water) 6,975.60 
		
	
	Other costs (£230,370.29) were made up as follows:
	
		
			   Cost (£) 
			 Security 13,685.97 
			 Branding 34,862.25 
			 Accreditation 11,324.18 
			 Audio-visual/public address services 85,562.33 
			 Press marquee/Ramada Hotel assembly point 55,937.70 
			 Promotional items 6,024.11 
			 Website hosting 2,444.00 
			 Secretariat equipment 1,644.29 
			 Interpretation 2,048.02 
			 Staff overtime 5,000.00 
			 The Grove—ancillary charges 11,837.44. 
		
	
	A clear distinction was maintained between costs of the summit borne by the FCO and those which fell to the Policy Network, who organised the Progressive Governance conference on the preceding day.

Teenage Pregnancy: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many conceptions there were in girls of  (a) 18,  (b) 17,  (c) 16,  (d) 15 and  (e) 14 years or under in Peterborough city council area in each year since 1997.

Tom Watson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 30 June 2008:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many conceptions there were to girls of (a) 18, (b) 17, (c) 16, (d) 15 and (e) 14 years or under in Peterborough City Council area in each year since 1997. (214573)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does not publish figures by single year of age below the age of 16 by either local or health authority because of the risk of disclosing individual's information. Figures for girls aged 16, 17 and 18 are not readily available. ONS, however, routinely publishes conception figures for girls aged under 16 and under 18 by local authorities. Therefore, number of conceptions for girls in these age groups in Peterborough UA for the years 1997-2006 (the most recent year for which figures are available), are shown in the table below. Figures for 2006 are provisional.
	Conceptions are estimated using the number of conceptions that resulted in a live birth, stillbirth or legal termination.
	
		
			  Number of conceptions to girls aged under 16 and under 18, Peterborough UA 1997-2006 
			   Under 18  Under 16 
			 1997 161 26 
			 1998 185 34 
			 1999 158 24 
			 2000 147 27 
			 2001 167 31 
			 2002 179 32 
			 2003 155 32 
			 2004 175 32 
			 2005 184 40 
			 2006(1) 190 25 
			 (1) Conceptions for 2006 are provisional.

Unemployment: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many workless households there were in Peterborough constituency in each month since January 2001.

Tom Watson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 30 June 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on how many workless households there were in Peterborough constituency in each month since January 2001.
	Data has already been provided on Workless Households in the Peterborough Constituency for the three months ending in June of 1999 and 2001-2007, Official Report 28 January 2008, columns 68W-69W. Workless household data are not available on a more frequent basis.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan: Asylum

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the effects on the access of humanitarian agencies to refugees of the security situation in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Shahid Malik: Security in most provinces across Afghanistan is broadly stable and allows the Government, Provincial Reconstruction Teams, the United Nations, donors, and Non-Governmental Organisations to continue their work. In the South and South-East the security situation presents some difficulties for humanitarian agencies to operate.
	Presently humanitarian agencies have limited access to insecure areas in the South and South East of Afghanistan. As a consequence, the capacity to conduct needs assessments, deliver assistance and monitor implementation is reduced. In situations where programme monitoring is required or there is an identified humanitarian need but the UN does not have access, UNHCR and other agencies work closely with other humanitarian actors (such as NGOs) and the Government of Afghanistan, who have more access. In dire emergencies where NGOs or GoA cannot assist due to high levels of insecurity—the UN will engage military actors such as ISAF.

Afghanistan: Schools

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development for which  (a) provinces and  (b) districts of Afghanistan his Department does not have information on the number of schools.

Shahid Malik: According to data obtained from the Ministry of Education of Afghanistan, there are schools located in every province of Afghanistan but a breakdown of exact figures for the number of schools in every district is not available. Although data collection is still poor, the Ministry of Education estimates that there are currently 9,500 schools located across all districts in Afghanistan.
	For more information, please see the Ministry of Education website at:
	www.moe.gov.af

Afghanistan: Schools

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 24 June 2008,  Official Report, column 290W, on Afghanistan: schools, how many  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools there were in each previous year for which records are held.

Shahid Malik: According to the Ministry of Education's most recent School Survey Programme Report, there were: 5,024 primary schools (1,817 male, 728 female and 2,479 mixed); 2,506 lower secondary (840 male, 374 female and 1,302 mixed); and 1,532 higher secondary (753 male, 235 female and 544 mixed) in August 2007.
	The following information is from the Ministry of Education of Afghanistan, responsible for recording data on education. Data collection is still poor in Afghanistan and as a result, the following table shows numbers inclusive of both primary and secondary schools.
	
		
			  Educational statistics from 2001 to 2006 on school numbers 
			   Male  Female  Total 
			 2001 3,389 0 3,389 
			 2002 5,077 962 6,039 
			 2003 5,990 1,147 7,137 
			 2004 6,813 1,441 8,254 
			 2005 5,541 2,857 8,398 
			 2006 5,541 2,857 8,398 
		
	
	For more information, please see the Ministry of Education website at:
	www.moe.gov.af

Central Asia: HIV Infection

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the incidence of HIV/AIDS amongst children in the former Soviet republics of Central Asia; and what assistance has been provided by his Department to tackle the problem.

Shahid Malik: According to national data and UNAIDS estimates, HIV and AIDS incidence and prevalence in Central Asia is low, with less than 0.1 per cent. of the general population infected. Currently, UNAIDS does not produce data on how many children in Central Asia are infected.
	There have been localised outbreaks of HIV infection in children in the Kyrgyz Republic and in Kazakhstan caused by unsafe practices in hospitals such as re-using needles and catheters. These outbreaks expose weaknesses in health service delivery.
	Following the most recent outbreak of HIV in children in the Kyrgyz Republic (72 children infected), the Department for International Development (DFID) and other donors worked closely with the Ministry of Health to implement an action plan. This included treatment and care for infected children, anti-retroviral therapy, counselling for relatives, and raising awareness among wider communities.
	This plan was partly funded from a £7 million DFID grant to the Kyrgyz Ministry of Health which, together with support from other donors, aims to increase the quality of health care services throughout the country.

Children: Mining

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent estimate he has made of the number of children working in mining in  (a) Africa,  (b) Asia and  (c) South America.

Shahid Malik: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not make its own estimates of the number of children working in the mining industry. For this we rely on the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which estimates the number of children working in the mining sector to be over 1 million worldwide. DFID supports the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to help countries implement core labour standards that include the elimination of child labour. We are also working with the ILO and civil society organisations to promote efforts to remove children from all hazardous labour. DFID has a 20 million partnership framework for three years (2006-09) with the ILO.
	DFID supports and currently chairs the Communities and Small scale Mining (CASM) initiative. This is a network that includes mining communities as well as international experts. It is based in the World Bank HQ in Washington DC and is active in Africa, Asia-Pacific, and South and Central America. As one of the four central themes of its work, Communities and Small-scale Mining (CASM) includes a focus on children working in dangerous and hazardous conditions in small-scale mining. CASM fully recognizes the extent and nature of child labour and is committed to its elimination from the mining industry.

Departmental Buildings

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many  (a) new builds and  (b) major refurbishments were completed by his Department for a cost in excess of 0.5 million in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08 to which the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method or equivalent was applied; how many such buildings were assessed as (A) pass, (B) good, (C) very good and (D) excellent; and if he will make a statement.

Shahid Malik: DFID only has two buildings in the UK, and not carried out any new builds or major refurbishment of these in the last three years. We have therefore not conducted any BREEAM assessments.
	Overseas, we completed the following works:
	
		
			  New  b uilds completed over the last three financial years 
			  Financial year  New build completed 
			 2005-06 None 
			 2006-07 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Islamabad, Pakistan Kabul, Afghanistan 
			 2007-08 Kampala, Uganda 
		
	
	
		
			  Refurbishments completed over the last three financial years 
			  Financial year  Refurbishments completed 
			 2005-06 None 
			 2006-07 None 
			 2007-08 Khartoum, Sudan 
		
	
	We have applied the BRE methodology to previous refurbishment projects in the UK, and are currently considering how it might be applied to building projects in the developing countries in which we operate.

Departmental Buildings

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many  (a) new builds and  (b) major refurbishments for a cost in excess of 0.5 million were completed by his Department in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08.

Shahid Malik: The information requested is as follows.
	
		
			  New builds completed over the last three financial years 
			  Financial year  New build completed 
			 2005-06 None 
			 2006-07 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Islamabad, Pakistan Kabul, Afghanistan 
			 2007-08 Kampala, Uganda 
		
	
	
		
			  Refurbishments completed over the last three financial years 
			  Financial year  Refurbishments completed 
			 2005-06 None 
			 2006-07 None 
			 2007-08 Khartoum, Sudan

Departmental Public Expenditure

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent on  (a) new furnishings,  (b) art and (c) new vehicles by his Department in each of the last three years.

Shahid Malik: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not hold a central record of expenditure on new furnishings, art or new vehicles. Compiling this information would incur disproportionate cost.

Developing Countries: Economic Growth

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what arrangements his Department has put in place to involve the private sector in supporting economic growth in developing countries.

Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) promotes policies and programmes which enable the private sector to support economic growth in developing countries. DFID's approach is to help make markets work better in a way that facilitates the private sector as the engine of growth. The private sector supports growth by making productive investments, creating jobs and generating profits on which tax is levied to finance essential public services.
	DFID works with governments, the private sector and other stakeholders to develop conducive investment climates that facilitate private sector led market development; and supports various mechanisms that involve working with the private sector more directly.
	For example, DFID led the development of the Investment Climate Facility for Africa and a variety of challenge funds which are being used to facilitate private sector engagement and innovation in economic reform in developing countries. DFID's work in many partner countries also focuses on specific activities that support private sector development such as financial sector development, reform of business regulation, tax systems and addressing constraints to fair competition.
	In response to the Call for Action on the MDGs launched by the Prime Minister with the UN Secretary-General last July, the Government are working with UNDP and the private sector to secure commitments by business to develop initiatives which will contribute to growth in developing countries and help meet the MDGs. The Government have also since 2002 launched Transparency initiatives in key sectors for growth such as extractives and construction to help minimise corruption in the sectors and maximise their contribution to growth.

Indonesia: Environment Protection

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will provide support to the Indonesian government to protect peatlands and rehabilitate degraded peatlands.

Shahid Malik: I visited Indonesia on the 23 and 24 June this year. Department for International Development (DFID) funding to the Indonesia Forest Climate Alliance helped the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry gather information on Indonesia's peatlands and the importance of peatland rehabilitation in tackling greenhouse gas emissions.
	DFID is in discussions with the Government of Indonesia on future support to improve land governance and spatial planning, as a precondition for tackling emissions from land-use change.

Indonesia: Environment Protection

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether, as part of his work on the environmental transformation fund, he has assessed the possible contribution of Indonesia's rainforests and peatlands in the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.

Shahid Malik: I visited Indonesia from the 23 to 24 of June. Department for International Development (DFID) funding of 250,000 to the Indonesia Forest Climate Alliance helped the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry assess the contribution of Indonesia's rainforests and peatlands to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.
	The Government of Indonesia is setting out a national investment framework for climate change mitigation and adaptation. The framework will allow the effective use of multilateral funds, such as the environmental transformation fund.

Overseas Aid

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of his Department's performance in meeting the pledges entered into by the UK at the G8 summit at Gleneagles in 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) is maintaining its Gleneagles pledges. DFID is increasing aid in line with commitments, and we are on track to reach 0.7 per cent. by 2013. We have also written off billions in debt since 2005. The UK continues to exceed its commitment on debt relief, giving 100 per cent. debt cancellation on bilateral debts to the UK for heavily indebted poor countries. In addition, the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative agreed at Gleneagles in 2005 has delivered an additional $42 billion of debt cancellation to 23 countries including 19 in Africa. We have pledged 8.5 billion for education over 10 years, and we have doubled our aid for water. At the G8 summit last year, there was a further commitment of US $60 billion for health in which we will play our part.
	The UK has also led efforts to establish monitoring mechanisms since Gleneagles, and supports and participates in the G8's annual Progress Report, the Africa Partnership Forum (APF) and the Africa Progress Panel (APP).

Somalia: Politics and Government

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Somalia.

Shahid Malik: The humanitarian situation in many parts of Somalia has significantly deteriorated due to a combination of negative factors such as conflict, drought, hyperinflation and a broad economic crisis. The ongoing conflict continues to disrupt livelihoods, provision of services and delivery of relief assistance in addition to the directly caused deaths, injuries, and displacement. Since January 2008 the Department for International Development (DFID) has provided 17.9 million for humanitarian assistance to the worst affected areas. This includes 12 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) to address the rising food prices in support of their recent appeals.

South East Asia: Palm Oil

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make it his policy to support a moratorium on the further conversion of rainforests and peatlands for palm oil in Southeast Asia.

Shahid Malik: I visited the region on the 23 and 24 June 2008. The Department for International Development (DFID) has not considered a moratorium on the further conversion of rainforests and peatlands for palm oil in Southeast Asia.
	DFID funding to the Indonesia Forest Climate Alliance helped the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry gather information on land devoted to palm oil. It showed that the area of land devoted to oil palm in Indonesia may double by 2020.
	DFID is discussing with the Government of Indonesia and other donors how to improve the sustainability of oil palm production. This includes reforms to spatial planning and to focus oil palm development on degraded mineral soils.

United Nations: HIV Infection

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what lessons were learned from the 2007 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS review; and what changes have been made as a result.

Douglas Alexander: The 2007 UNAIDS AIDS Epidemiology Update reported that the percentage of the world's adult population living with HIV has levelled off and some countries have achieved reductions. However, the proportion of people living with HIV (PLWH) globally is increasing, because of new infections, and the fact that people are surviving longer once they are infected. The report does not change the need for immediate action to scale-up towards Universal Access to comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services.
	The UK Government's updated AIDS strategy Achieving Universal Access - the UK's strategy for halting and reversing the spread of HIV in the developing world sets out action the UK will take to help achieve Universal Access. This is available in the Library of the House and on the DFID website at:
	www.dfid.gov.uk

Wood

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much timber and how many timber products were procured by his Department in each of the last five years; and at what cost.

Shahid Malik: The only significant timber or timber products that the Department for International Development (DFID) purchases are items of furniture. We are unable to provide the information requested as we do not separately identify either the quantity or value of such products from other items of furniture purchased.

Wood

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much timber and timber products were procured by his Department originating from independently verified legal and sustainable sources or from a licensed FLEGT partner in each of the last five years; and at what cost.

Shahid Malik: The Department for International Development (DFID) has an Environmental Procurement Policy which requires that all timber and timber products are procured from sustainable and legal resources, in accordance with Government guidelines.
	The only significant timber or timber products we purchase are some items of furniture, but we are unable to provide this information as we do not separately identify either the quantity or value of such products from other items of furniture purchased.

Zimbabwe: Overseas Aid

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans his Department has to assist Zimbabwe in reconstruction when stability is re-established.

Shahid Malik: The Department for International Development is ready to make a leading contribution to Zimbabwe's recovery. We have been working with the donor community, the International Financial Institutions, and the UN to ensure that a swift and well co-ordinated support package will be put in place as soon as the time is right.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Armed Forces

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what Afghan military formations are based in Helmand province; and what assessment he has made of their state of operational effectiveness.

Des Browne: Currently, there are seven battalions, or kandaks, of the Afghan National Army (ANA) based in Helmand province. Five of these comprise the 3rd Brigade of the 205th Corps (3/205 Brigade) of the ANA. This includes three Combat Kandaks; one Combat Support Kandak; and one Combat Service Support Kandak. There is also a Counter-Narcotics Kandak active in the province, and an additional Combat Kandak seconded from the 4th Brigade of the 205th Corps (4/205 Brigade) to assist operations in Helmand province.
	Afghan troops deployed in Helmand are continuing to increase in capability and have performed impressively on many occasions alongside our own, showing great courage; for example, the ANA led the highly successful operation to recapture the town of Musa Qaleh in December 2007, and took the lead in recent operations to secure the city of Kandahar following the Taliban attack on the prison there. We will continue to work closely with them to build their capacity and bring security to the province.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what mechanisms are in place to monitor the adequacy of equipment deployed in  (a) Afghanistan and  (b) Iraq.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 6 May 2008
	Theatre Equipment Reviews are undertaken on a six monthly basis. They take account of Defence concurrency needs, the theatre context and the specific military tasks required. They identify the relevant equipment and resource needs and make recommendations for the delivery of equipment, including urgent operational requirements. They are linked to Force Level Reviews, to ensure coherence between manpower levels and equipment.
	The mechanism for reporting complaints about equipment or the spares system is the Equipment Failure Report. These are entered onto the equipment failure reporting system and forwarded to the appropriate Defence Equipment and Support Integrated Project Team for investigation and action.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of troop numbers required in Afghanistan in  (a) 2009 and  (b) each of the subsequent five years.

Des Browne: holding answer 25 June 2008
	We keep the size and composition of the UK military commitment to Afghanistan under regular review and will make further adjustments where necessary, as we have in the past.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to page 45 of the National Security Strategy of the United Kingdom, Cm 7291, what the evidential basis is for the statement that the armed forces are entering a phase of overall reduced commitments; and what the trend in commitments has been since publication of the strategy.

Des Browne: The hon. Member highlights a phrase in the National Security Strategy that describes our intent to further reduce the commitment of UK forces to combat operations, notably in Iraq. As I explained in my statement of 24 April 2008,  Official Report, column 107WS, it remains our clear direction of travel and our plan to make further reductions in force levels in Iraq, as and when conditions allow.
	Since the publication of the strategy in March 2008, the trend in overall commitments has remained broadly constant. As I explained in my statement of 16 June 2008,  Official Report, column 678, the recent review of forces deployed to Afghanistan aims principally to rebalance capability and the planned uplift of 230 posts represents a modest adjustment to our existing commitment. The deployment of the Operational Reserve Force to Kosovo from 31 May involves some 600 personnel for a planned period of only one month.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which regiments  (a) have and  (b) have not conducted operational tours in the last five years.

Bob Ainsworth: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 12 May 2008,  Official Report, column 1312W, to the hon. Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox) which showed which units have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
	All regiments within the Infantry, Royal Armoured Corps and Royal Artillery have conducted operational tours in the last five years as formed units.
	Elements from other arms and services usually deploy as sub-units, on attachment to other units, or as individual augmentees. Information on sub-unit deployments is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of Army service personnel have not performed frontline duty during their service.

Bob Ainsworth: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2008,  Official Report, column 1088W, on armed forces: deployment, how many armed forces personnel were placed on standby prior to planned firefighters' strikes in each year since 1997.

Bob Ainsworth: Service personnel are only used to provide cover during fire strikes as a last resort. There are accordingly no armed forces personnel on permanent standby or permanently trained to provide emergency fire cover. In the event of a strike, fire services are expected to explore all other available options drawing on professional fire fighters. This has been borne out during the last two years, as military assistance was not required during Fire Brigade Union industrial action in Hertfordshire and Merseyside in 2006. We do not put people on standby for planned strikes unless we have received a formal request from the defence communities and local government for assistance and it has been approved by the Defence Council. The following table details such operations:
	
		
			   Location of strike  Number of personnel involved 
			 2006 Merseyside No personnel involved 
			  Hertfordshire No personnel involved 
			
			 2005 Suffolk 451 
			  West Midlands 115 
			
			 2003-04 National Strike 3,800 
			
			 2002-03 National Strike 19,000 
			
			 2001 Merseyside 539 
			
			 1998 Essex 450

Armed Forces: Fire Services

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to his Department was of providing fire fighters from the armed forces during industrial action by civilian fire fighters in each year since 1997.

Bob Ainsworth: There were no costs borne by the Department from the provision of fire fighters from the armed forces during industrial action by fire fighters. In accordance with HM Treasury charging policy, the costs associated with the provision of emergency fire cover during periods of industrial action were recovered from the Government Department responsible for Fire and Rescue Services: the Department for Communities and Local Government and its predecessors. The costs recovered by the Department are as follows:
	
		
			   Strike action  Cost  ( million) 
			 2006 Merseyside (1) 
			  Hertfordshire (1) 
			
			 2005 Suffolk 0.05 
			  West Midlands 0.249 
			
			 2003-04 National 0.604 
			 2002-03 National 75.00 
			 2001 Merseyside 0.648 
			 1998 Essex (2) 
			 (1) No personnel deployed. (2) No information available.

Armed Forces: Fire Services

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what training exercises have been conducted in assisting with civilian fire fighting duties by members of the armed forces in each year since 1997; and what the  (a) date and  (b) number of personnel trained was in each case.

Bob Ainsworth: Fire fighting is not a core task for service personnel. Accordingly they do not normally conduct training exercises with civilian fire fighters. Training for the personnel involved in the operations set out in the following table was conducted when it became clear that a strike was likely to occur and the Department for Communities and Local Government had formally requested defence support as other options had been exhausted.
	
		
			   Location of strike  Number of personnel involved 
			 2006 Merseyside (1) 
			  Hertfordshire (1) 
			
			 2005 Suffolk 451 
			  West Midlands 115 
			
			 2003-04 National strike 3,800 
			 2002-03 National strike 19,000 
			 2001 Merseyside 539 
			 1998 Essex 450 
			 (1) No personnel involved.

Armed Forces: Manpower

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many serving military personnel in each age range in the  (a) Army,  (b) Royal Navy and  (c) Royal Air Force are (i) single, (ii) married, (iii) divorced and (iv) separated.

Bob Ainsworth: Records on the number of serving military personnel in each age range by marital status are not held centrally, following the implementation of the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Prior to JPA information on the strength of the UK regular forces by marital status and age was published in Tri-Service Publication 11, UK Regular Forces Marital Status (TSP 11). Copies of the most recent and historical publications can be found at:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index.php?page=48pubType=1thiscontent=110date=2007-06-08disText=l%20Apr%202007from=listingtopDate=2007-06-08.
	Figures for the naval service were last published as at 1 October 2006, Army as at 1 March 2007 and RAF as at 1 April 2006.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people have been recruited to the armed forces from each region in the United Kingdom in the last three years.

Bob Ainsworth: Information on recruitment by region is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2008,  Official Report, column 718W, on armed forces: recruitment, for what reasons the recruitment target for the Army in 2005-06 was set at 73,400.

Bob Ainsworth: This was due to a printing error in the Hansard Publication which has been identified and a correction requested for the bound volume.
	The correct recruitment target for the Army in 2005-06 was 13,400.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces recruitment centres there are in each region of the UK.

Bob Ainsworth: The parent Armed Forces Careers Offices (AFCO) and their satellite offices are listed:
	 S cotland and Northern Ireland t otal six
	Aberdeen
	Belfastwith satellites at Coleraine, Omagh, and Portadown
	Dundeewith satellites at Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy, and Perth
	Edinburghwith satellites at Bathgate, Dumfries, and Galashiels
	Glasgowwith satellites at Dumbarton, Greenock, Hamilton, Irvine, Paisley, and Stirling
	Invernesswith satellites at Elgin, and Wick
	 North East  total five
	Hullwith satellites at Scarborough, and York
	Leedswith satellites at Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, Wakefield
	Middlesbroughwith satellites at Bishop Auckland, Catterick, Darlington, and Durham
	Newcastlewith satellites at Ashington, South Shields, and Sunderland
	Sheffieldwith satellites at Barnsley, and Doncaster
	 East Midlands  total six
	Cambridge with a satellite at Luton
	Leicester with a satellite at Northampton
	Lincolnwith satellites at Boston and Grimsby
	Norwichwith a satellite at Ipswich
	Nottinghamwith satellites at Chesterfield, Derby, and Mansfield
	Peterborough
	 South Eas t total five
	Brightonwith satellites at Chichester, Crawley and Hastings
	Chathamwith satellites at Canterbury, Dover, and Tunbridge Wells
	Londonwith satellites at Blackheath, Croydon, Ilford, Strand, and Wembley
	Readingwith satellites at Milton Keynes, and Oxford
	Southendwith satellites at Chelmsford, and Colchester
	 South West  total six
	Bournemouthwith a satellite at Salisbury
	Bristolwith satellites at Bath, and Swindon
	Exeterwith satellites at Barnstaple and Taunton
	Plymouthwith a satellite at Torquay
	Portsmouthwith satellites at Aldershot, Guildford, Newport (Isle of Wight),
	Southampton
	Redruth
	 West Midland and South Wales  total six
	Birminghamwith satellites at Coventry and Wolverhampton
	Cardiff- with satellites at Merthyr Tydfil, Newport, and Pontypridd
	Gloucester
	Shrewsburywith satellites at Hereford, and Worcester
	Stokewith a satellite at Burton-upon-Trent
	Swanseawith satellites at Carmarthen, and Haverfordwest
	 North West and North Wales  total five
	Carlislewith satellites at Barrow-in-Furness, and Workington
	Liverpoolwith satellites at Birkenhead, Chester, St Helens, and Warrington
	Manchesterwith satellites at Bolton, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, and Wigan
	Prestonwith satellites at Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley and Lancaster
	Wrexhamwith satellites at Aberystwyth, Bangor, and Rhyl

Armed Forces: Training

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much training time for future officers at Sandhurst comprises counter-insurgency tactics and operations.

Bob Ainsworth: Approximately 17 per cent. of the 44 weeks of instruction an officer cadet receives at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst is devoted to counter-insurgency tactics and operations. These are known as stabilisation operations at Sandhurst. The teaching is conducted in a variety of ways including theory, demonstrations, practice periods and two field exercises.

Armed Forces: Training

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much training time for  (a) regulars and  (b) Territorial Army personnel on pre-deployment to theatre is given to counter-insurgency tactics and operations.

Bob Ainsworth: All soldiers deploying on operations will undertake theatre-specific Pre-Deployment Training (PDT), tailored to the particular needs of the unit, or individual, and the role they will undertake while on operations. The amount of time within the respective PDT programme that is dedicated to counter-insurgency tactics and operations will therefore vary.
	Current operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan have a heavy, though not exclusive, focus upon counter insurgency activity, and this is mirrored in the respective PDT, which is usually undertaken over a period of six months.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armoured vehicles of each type are  (a) in service,  (b) fit for purpose and  (c) not available.

Bob Ainsworth: The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   In service  Fit for purpose  Not available 
			 Challenger 2 345 322 23 
			 Driver Track Trg Vehicle 22 21 1 
			 Challenger Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicle 81 75 6 
			 Trojan 16 14 2 
			 Titan 14 12 2 
			 Warrior 793 590 203 
			 Saxon 147 143 4 
			 Samson 52 30 22 
			 Spartan 555 231 324 
			 Scimitar 360 228 132 
			 Samaritan 50 33 17 
			 Sultan 205 119 86 
			 FV430 1,490 1,118 372 
			 Mastiff 108 108 0 
			 WMIK/Jackal 52 50 2 
			 Vector 169 169 0 
			 Viking
			 Panther 59 59 0 
		
	
	For clarity, the in service numbers represent the total fleet numbers, the fit for purpose are those currently available, and the not available figure is the difference between the two.
	Currently available vehicles include those awaiting minor repairs or in transit to theatre. Those vehicles not available will be undergoing major 'depth' repair or planned refit programmes.
	FV430 are currently undergoing a major upgrade programme to convert to Bulldog. A high proportion of Spartan, Scimitar and Sultan vehicles are also either undergoing major overhaul or are scheduled for refit.

AWE Burghfield: Finance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how the cost of AWE Burghfield's operations in 2007-08 was apportioned in the Defence budget.

Bob Ainsworth: The full costs of the Atomic Weapons Establishment are funded from the Defence budget. For 2007-08, most of those costs were apportioned through Defence Equipment and Support, with a small proportion allocated through the Central Top Level Budget for Ministry of Defence police activities.

AWE Burghfield: Floods

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock) of 24 January 2008,  Official Report, column 2138W, on AWE Burghfield: floods, whether a flood protection strategy has been developed for the Burghfield site; and whether hydraulic modelling has been conducted for the site.

Bob Ainsworth: A flood protection strategy is being implemented at the AWE Burghfield site and a hydraulic model of the catchment area of AWE Burghfield, both upstream and downstream, has been prepared. The model will be used for analysis and simulation of future design options and for the preparation of detailed designs.

AWE Burghfield: Floods

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date a flood risk assessment for the proposed new Conventional Manufacturing Rationalisation Facility at AWE Burghfield was submitted to the local planning authority.

Bob Ainsworth: A flood risk assessment for the Conventional Manufacturing Facility was sent to West Berkshire Council planning authority with the planning application on 22 May 2008, and can be viewed on their planning application website:
	http://planning.westberks.gov.uk/rpp/index.asp?caseref=08/00954/COMIND

AWE Burghfield: Floods

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what studies have been conducted by his Department to establish whether the proposed major housing development at Kennet Valley Park would have implications for  (a) flood protection and  (b) safety requirements at AWE Burghfield.

Bob Ainsworth: MOD is aware of this proposed housing development and it has been taken into account in the flood protection strategy for AWE Burghfield.
	As with any planning application submitted to the local planning authority, key stakeholders such as the Environment Agency and Health and Safety Executive will be consulted by the council before a final decision is made. The local planning authority's response will take account of all relevant elements of the area's existing land usage, including the proximity of AWE Burghfield, and any flood protection and safety requirements.

AWE Burghfield: Planning Permission

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether a site development strategy for AWE Burghfield has been  (a) prepared and  (b) submitted to the local planning authority.

Bob Ainsworth: A Site Development Context Plan was created in 2005 and represents the site development strategy for both the AWE Aldermaston and Burghfield sites from 2005 to 2015. The original Site Development Context Plan was submitted to the West Berkshire council planning authority in November 2005. An update of the plan was sent on 22 May 2008 and is available on the West Berkshire Planning Application website:
	http://planning.westberks.gov.uk/rpp/index.asp?caseref=08/00954/COMIND

Departmental Buildings

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) new builds and  (b) major refurbishments for a cost in excess of 0.5 million were completed by his Department in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08.

Derek Twigg: The requested information is not held centrally or in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's current corporate planning assumption rates are for  (a) foreign exchange and  (b) petrol, oil and lubricants.

Bob Ainsworth: Defence corporate planning assumptions (CPAs) are designed to enable financial planning on a common basis across the Department. The foreign exchange rates are based on the forward rates prevailing at the time the assumptions are prepared. The fuel price assumptions are based on projections produced by the MOD Chief Economist's staff at the same time. CPAs are updated at regular intervals so that any changes in the projections can be incorporated into forward financial plans.
	For Planning Round 2009, which is now under way, the Department's CPAs for foreign exchange and propulsion fuel (there is no CPA equating to 'petrol, oil and lubricants') are shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  Forward exchange rates( 1) , taken on 19 May 2008 
			   2009-10  2010-11  2011-12  2012-13 
			 US dollar 1.87 1.88 1.87 1.86 
			 Euro 1.34 1.30 1.27 1.23 
			 Canadian dollar 1.96 1.94 1.91 1.89 
			 (1) Foreign currency to sterling rates  Source: Bank of England. 
		
	
	
		
			  Propulsion fuel prices( 1) , taken on 12 April 2008 
			   2009-10  2010-11  2011-12  2012-13 
			 Aviation Fuel 440 390 370 370 
			 Marine Fuel 350 320 300 300 
			 Road Diesel 1110 1060 1050 1070 
			 Other Propulsion Fuels 1030 990 990 1000 
			 (1)  per cubic metre unless stated.  Source: MOD calculations.

Departmental Vetting

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedures his Department follows for checking the criminal records of employees; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: For those positions in the MOD that require national security vetting, applicants are required to complete a security questionnaire declaring both unspent and spent convictions. The data are checked by the Defence Vetting Agency, which has direct access to the Police National Computer, along with a range of other checks as described in the Prime Minister's statement on vetting on 15 December 1994,  Official Report, columns 764-66W.
	Where it is judged that national security vetting is unnecessary and the level of risk is acceptable, the Government Baseline Personnel Security Standard is applied. This requires recruits to declare unspent convictions against which random checks are carried out. When individuals will be working with children or vulnerable adults, their consent is sought to carry out additional checks through the Defence Vetting Agency with the Criminal Records Bureau.

EU Common Foreign and Security Policy

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many appointments of one star and above there are within the EU military command structure.

Des Browne: There is no standing European Union (EU) military command structure. The military bodies that support the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) are:
	The EU Military Committee (EUMC), which is a regular meeting of the Chiefs of Defence Staff or their representatives from the EU member states. The EUMC includes two permanent appointments of one star or above (a four star appointment and a one star appointment).
	The EU Military Staff (EUMS), which is a permanent body within the Council Secretariat that performs early warning, situation assessment and strategic planning, and implements policies and decisions as directed by the EUMC. There are eight appointments of one star and above in the EUMS (a three star appointment, a two star appointment and six one star appointments).
	Out of these appointments, the UK currently holds one three star appointment in the EUMS. Other appointments in the EUMC and EUMS are drawn from across the other 26 EU member states.

EU Common Foreign and Security Policy

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the role of the military staff of the European Union is; and what UK contribution there is to that staff.

Des Browne: The role and tasks of the European Union Military Staff, as set out in the treaty of Nice, are:
	It is the source of the EU's military expertise.
	It assures the link between the European Union Military Committee (EUMC) on the one hand and the military resources available to the EU on the other, and it provides military expertise to EU bodies as directed by the EUMC.
	It provides an early warning capability. It plans, assesses and makes recommendations regarding the concept of crisis management and the general military strategy and implements the decisions and guidance of the EUMC.
	It supports the EUMC regarding situation assessment and military aspects of strategic planning, over the full range of Petersberg tasks, for all cases of EU-led operations, whether or not the EU draws on NATO assets and capabilities.
	It contributes to the process of elaboration, assessment and review of the capability goals taking into account the need, for those member states concerned, to ensure coherence with NATO's defence planning process (DPP) and the planning and review process (PARP) of the partnership for peace (PfP) in accordance with agreed procedures.
	It has the responsibility to monitor, assess and make recommendations regarding the forces and capabilities made available to the EU by the member states, on training, exercises and interoperability.
	18 British military personnel are currently seconded to the European Union Military Staff.

EU Defence Policy

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Government's policy is on the creation of a European military air transport command under the management of the EU.

Des Browne: There is no European military air transport command under the management of the EU, nor is one proposed. The European Air Transport Command is an initiative between France, Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands to provide military transport to the participating countries in a more cost effective way. We do not intend to join this initiative.

Falkland Islands: Airbridge

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what timetable he has put in place for awarding the contract for the future provision of the airbridge to the Falkland Islands;
	(2)  which organisation operates the flights on the Falkland Islands airbridge;
	(3)  how many tenders his Department has received for the new contract to provide the Falkland Islands airbridge;
	(4)  how many airbridge flights to the Falkland Islands there were each week in each of the last three years; and how many flights per week he expects under the new contract to provide the service.

Bob Ainsworth: The MOD issued seven invitations to tender, six of which were returned. Contract award is planned for end of July 2008 with a contract start date of 1 October 2008. The organisation currently responsible for operating the flights on the Falkland Islands airbridge is Omni Air International under contract with Air Partner plc. The schedules were arranged on the basis of three flights each two weeks. The actual number of flights was 73, 75 and 76 for 2005, 2006 and 2007 respectively. The frequency of flights under the new contract will be decided as part of the evaluation process.

Falkland Islands: Airbridge

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average occupancy rate on a Falkland Islands airbridge flight was in  (a) 2008,  (b) 2007,  (c) 2006 and  (d) 2005; and what proportion of such occupancy was accounted for by (i) military and (ii) non-military passengers.

Bob Ainsworth: The average occupancy on a Falkland Islands airbridge is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Total average numbers of passengers per flight 168 180 190 170 
			 Total average number of non-military passengers per flight (percentage) 14 14 13 15 
			 Total average number of military passengers per flight (percentage) 86 86 87 85 
		
	
	These figures include passengers that disembark/embark in both Ascension Island and the Falkland Islands.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces personnel have lost all or part of their sight through service in  (a) Iraq and  (b) Afghanistan.

Derek Twigg: The information is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost by examining the personal medical file of every current and former service man and woman, which would additionally require the permission of all individuals.

Lebanon: Armed Forces

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what contribution his Department has made to  (a) the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon and  (b) training Lebanese armed forces since August 2006;
	(2)  when his Department last reviewed the level of its contribution to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

Bob Ainsworth: The MOD contributed to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) with the deployment of HMS York from August to November 2006. HMS York formed a part of the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force (TF) responsible for provision of maritime surveillance and protection of the Lebanese coast against illegal smuggling. In addition, the UK seconded a Royal Navy Commander to the UN Headquarters to assist the UN in making logistics and other arrangements for the UN Maritime Task Force.
	The MOD last reviewed its contribution to UNIFIL in the summer of 2006 which resulted in these deployments which have now concluded. We nevertheless keep the situation in Lebanon under regular review.
	Since August 2006, we have continued to identify training needs and where appropriate and possible, provide a range of training programmes for the Lebanese armed forces. Training provided focuses on officer, staff and command development, in order to build capacity and capability within the Lebanese armed forces.

Lebanon: Armed Forces

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assistance on counter-terrorism his Department has provided to the Lebanese army since August 2006.

Bob Ainsworth: It is not the practice of the Government to make public the details of such assistance to individual countries as this would, or would be likely to, prejudice international relations.

Military Bases: Aviation

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military airfields within a 30 mile radius of London have runways long enough to accommodate a Boeing 747.

Bob Ainsworth: There are no military airfields within a 30 mile radius of London with the necessary infrastructure to safely accommodate a Boeing 747.

Nuclear Disarmament

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South of 5 June 2008,  Official Report, column 1062W, on nuclear disarmament, what  (a) structure and  (b) timetable he plans to establish for the technical conference of P5 nuclear laboratories on the verification of nuclear disarmament.

Des Browne: As stated in my response on 5 June 2008, the offer is for a P5 conference hosted by the UK rather than a UK conference to which the P5 states are simply invited. Therefore, the structure and timetable, as well as any subsequent publicity, will need to be mutually agreed by all five participating states. MOD and FCO officials continue to actively engage with their P5 counterparts and I will keep the house informed of progress.

Nuclear Submarines

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 5 June 2006,  Official Report, column 44W, on nuclear submarines, what role his Department has played in the formulation of safety plans for berths as specified under the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2001.

Bob Ainsworth: The Ministry of Defence has put in place arrangements to comply in full with the legislation as interpreted and enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (Nuclear Installations Inspectorate) as the statutory regulator to accommodate nuclear powered submarines. This includes all required consultation with, and in support of, other agencies or authorities.

Nuclear Submarines: Decommissioning

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what account he has taken of the environmental effect of the decommissioning of nuclear submarines and storage of nuclear material on the west of Scotland in formulating policy, with particular regard to  (a) Faslane and  (b) Coulport.

Bob Ainsworth: The nuclear submarines that are undergoing decommissioning are currently in afloat storage at HM Naval Base Devonport, in South West England, and Rosyth Dockyard, in the East of Scotland. An assessment of the environmental effect of this afloat storage on the West of Scotland is therefore not considered necessary.
	The future dismantling of these submarines, including the disposal of Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste, falls within the scope of the Interim Storage of Laid-Up Submarines (ISOLUS) project. The ISOLUS project expects to undertake environmental assessments in accordance with the relevant statutes. At this point in the project, environmental effects are being considered generically and not in reference to specific sites.
	The MOD's management arrangements for Nuclear Materials operations, including storage, are underpinned by the statutory requirements of the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999 and Radioactive Substances Act 1993. These arrangements are subject to scrutiny by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) and Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and continue to be assessed as satisfactory. These arrangements apply across all relevant MOD sites including Faslane and Coulport.

Warships

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many frigates and destroyers were identified in the 1998 Strategic Defence Review as being required by the Royal Navy to fulfil their tasks; how many are in service; and how many are expected to be in service in 2012.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 26 June 2008
	The 1998 Strategic Defence Review identified a requirement for 32 destroyers and frigates. This was changed to 25 in the 2004 White Paper Delivering Security in a Changing World, Future Capabilities (Cm 6269), and this remains the number presently in service. On current plans, the number of destroyers and frigates in service in 2012 will fluctuate as the Type 42 destroyers are replaced by the new Type 45s, though we would expect there to be between 21 and 23 ships in service during the course of that year.

Warships

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) destroyers,  (b) frigates and  (c) submarines are available for tasking.

Bob Ainsworth: As of the 25 June 2008 the Royal Navy has six destroyers, 14 frigates and six submarines available for tasking. These figures are subject to daily change as a result of maintenance and operational requirements.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Departmental Manpower

Francis Maude: To ask the Leader of the House how many permanent staff within her Office are classed as  (a) staff without posts and  (b) part of a people action team.

Helen Goodman: None.

Members: Allowances

John Mann: To ask the Leader of the House 
	(1)  what the average annual additional costs allowance claim was in each of the last three years;
	(2)  how many hon. and right hon. Members have received additional payments for security costs at their second home in the last five years;
	(3)  how many hon. and right hon. Members claimed mortgage interest through the additional costs allowance in the latest period for which figures are available; and how many claimed the full allowance.

Helen Goodman: The average amount paid to hon. Members who have claimed the additional costs allowance (ACA) in the last three years for which information is available is as follows:
	
		
			   Average amount paid to hon. Members () 
			 2004-05 17,805 
			 2005-06 15,804 
			 2006-07 19,296 
		
	
	The general election in May 2005 means that the number of hon. Members claiming ACA in 2005-06 included some who left the House and had entitlement to a reduced amount of ACA.
	Information is not available on the costs of security measures for Members' second homes met through the ACA. A central budget can, in certain circumstances, provide top-up funds for security measures. One Member has received an additional payment for security costs at their second home. These costs related exclusively to a constituency office located at this address.
	415 Members claimed mortgage interest through the ACA in 2006-07.
	173 Members claimed the maximum additional costs allowance available in the same year.

Members: Pay

John Mann: To ask the Leader of the House how many hon. and right hon. Members receive additional salary payments for governmental responsibilities in addition to the basic salary.

Helen Goodman: In accordance with the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975 limiting the number of paid Ministers, there are 88 hon. and right hon. Members who receive additional salary payments for governmental responsibilities in addition to their basic salaries.
	A full list of all Government Ministers is kept up to date on the No. 10 website
	http://www.numberl0.gov.uk/output/Page2988.asp.

Morning Star

Francis Maude: To ask the Leader of the House how many copies of the  Morning Star publication her Office subscribes to each week; and at what cost.

Helen Goodman: None.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Allotments

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what mechanisms exist to ensure that local authorities provide an adequate number of allotments.

Iain Wright: The provision of allotments is the responsibility of local authorities. Section 23 of the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 places a duty on local authorities (except for inner London boroughs) to provide sufficient allotments where they consider that there is a demand for them in their area.
	Furthermore Planning Policy Guidance, Note 17: Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation, 2002 encourages local authorities to ensure that they provide an adequate number of allotments for their community and ascertain what is sufficient for their local area. The accompanying guidance to PPG 17 advises local authorities on setting local standards.

Allotments

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to ask local authorities for information on local quality and quantity provision standards for allotments as referred to in Planning and Policy Guidance Note 17.

Iain Wright: The Secretary of State does not have any plans to ask local authorities for information on the standards of provision for allotments. Section 23 of the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 places a duty on local authorities (except for inner London boroughs) to provide allotments where they perceive a demand for them in their area.
	Planning Policy Guidance Note 17(PPG17) encourages local authorities to assess the existing and future needs of their communities for open spaces more generally and, where appropriate, address deficiencies. It also states that authorities should allocate sites within their plans for the provision of new open spaces. PPG 17 advises local authorities to use the information gained from their assessments of needs and opportunities to set locally derived standards for the provision of open space, sports and recreation facilities in their areas.

Allotments: Finance

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make exceptional funding available for the provision of allotments.

Iain Wright: Funding for allotments is available through the financial support that all local authorities receive from central Government. It is up to local authorities to ensure that adequate funding is in place for allotments according to their local needs.

Caravan Sites: Council Tax

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 8 May 2008,  Official Report, column 1092W, on travelling people: council tax, for what minimum period a caravan must be used as a residence before the Valuation Office Agency will consider that caravan to be a dwelling liable for council tax.

John Healey: No minimum period is defined by statute. It is established rating law, applicable to council tax, that a transitory occupation of land does not amount to rateable occupation. Whether the necessary permanence of occupation has been established for liability to arise will depend on the facts in each case.

Community Relations

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have held local forums on tackling extremism and Islamophobia referred to in the Preventing Violent Extremism report published in April 2007.

Parmjit Dhanda: There are 16 forums against extremism and Islamophobia established and meeting, in the following local authority areas:
	Redbridge
	Leicester
	Peterborough
	Reading
	High Wycombe
	Craven
	Kirklees
	Blackburn
	East Lanes (Pendle, Burnley, Rossendale, Preston)
	Dudley
	Bristol
	West London Alliance (Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow)
	Derby
	Newcastle
	Kensington and Chelsea
	Enfield
	Many local authorities have chosen alternative means to achieve the objective of engaging local communities in their work to tackle violent extremism locally. For example, the Southwark Parents Forum, the Government Office South West regional forum, Leeds' Muslim Youth Forum, Haringey's Women's Forum, and Croydon's Forum for Young People.

Community Relations

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 24 January 2008,  Official Report, column 2161W, on community relations, how many peers have been accredited to work with local authorities on the Preventing Violent Extremism agenda; who the peers are; which local authorities they have visited to date; which local authorities they plan to visit in 2008-09; and if she will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: So far 30 peer mentors have been accredited and trained by the Improvement and Development Agency to work with local authorities on Preventing Violent Extremism. They are:
	Javed Khan
	Robin Tuddenham
	Elaine Jewell
	Sabin Malik
	Michael Keating
	Julie Pal
	Mike Waite
	Shaista Gohir
	Catherine Falvey
	Mashuq Ally
	Nina Rahel
	Farooq Siddique
	Shahda Khan
	Lee Harrison
	Hanif Malik
	Haras Rafiq
	Riaz Ahmad
	Cllr Helal Uddin Abbas
	Cllr Mahroof Hussain
	Cllr Nargis Khan
	Cllr Fiyaz Mughal
	Cllr Mohammed Pervez
	Cllr Marie Pye
	Cllr Sirajul Islam
	Cllr Paul Sargent
	Cllr Jean Stretton
	Cllr Margaret Eaton
	Cllr Howard Sykes
	Cllr Clyde Loakes
	Cllr Ayaz Siddique
	On 18 June the Improvement and Development Agency concluded a pilot review of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities. Following this, peer mentors will undertake pilot reviews of two local authorities in Julywe will be selecting and notifying these authorities shortly. The peer mentors will conduct a further four reviews by April 2009.

Community Relations

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she has published the best practice for different types of areas document referred to in her letter of 6 October 2007 to the Chairman of the Commission on Integration and Cohesion, Darra Singh.

Parmjit Dhanda: We plan to publish the first part of a cohesion delivery framework this summer. This will set out how local areas can build an understanding of the key issues for cohesion in their area and develop an action plan to reflect this local understanding. We are working with the Institute for Community Cohesion to make best practice on cohesion available on a searchable database. This will also be launched shortly.

Community Relations

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department has set up the web-based One Stop Shop on Cohesion referred to in her letter of 6 October 2007 to the Chairman of the Commission on Integration and Cohesion, Darra Singh.

Parmjit Dhanda: Communities and Local Government is supporting the Institute of Community Cohesion to implement a web-based one stop shop on cohesion, the first phase of which is due for launch at the end of July 2008. This will be an important resource for local authorities and partners as they build, and maintain, cohesive communities.

Council Housing: Sales

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what date the first unit of council housing was sold under the Housing Act 1980.

Iain Wright: It is not possible to identify whether the information requested is available or indeed was ever recorded without incurring disproportionate expense.
	Chapter 1 of part 1 of the Housing Act 1980 (the right to buy) came into force on 8 October 1980. Between that date and 31 March 1981, 2,328 properties were sold under the scheme in England and 307 in Wales, a total of 2,635 properties.

County Councils: Marketing

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much each county council spent on communications and marketing in the last year for which figures are available.

Parmjit Dhanda: The information requested is not held centrally.

Departmental Contracts

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government who each of her Department's preferred contractors is.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department does not have any preferred suppliers because this would conflict with our obligation to procure in a non-discriminatory manner.

Departmental Home Working

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff in her Department are authorised to work from home.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department has no central record of requests to work from home as these arrangements are made by local agreement between individual staff and their line manager. Collection of this information from individual line managers would be at disproportionate cost.
	The Department is committed to improving work/life balance. It values diversity and tries to accommodate different work patterns including the use of home working where operational/business constraints permit.

Departmental Manpower

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many jobs her Department expects to relocate under the policy of civil service job dispersal.

Parmjit Dhanda: Communities and Local Government have a target to relocate 240 full-time equivalent posts out of London and the greater south east by 2010.

Departmental Pay

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the average pay per hour worked by  (a) permanent and  (b) temporary staff in her Department in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by pay band.

Parmjit Dhanda: The average pay per hour worked by permanent and temporary staff in the Department is shown in the following table (shown to two decimal places).
	
		
			   Average pay per hour 
			  Pay band  Permanent staff ()  Temporary staff () 
			 PBEM1 8.53 7.77 
			 PBEM2 9.23 n/a 
			 PBEM3 11.50 n/a 
			 Pay Band 1 10.00 10.02 
			 Pay Band 2 12.67 11.86 
			 Pay Band 3 14.56 14.09 
			 Pay Band 4 16.32 15.22 
			 Pay Band 5 20.11 18.58 
			 Pay Band 6 25.46 24.52 
			 Pay Band 7 31.88 32.55 
			 SCS Pay Band 1 31.27 38.18 
			 SCS Pay Band 2 46.05 51.00 
			 SCS Pay Band 3 65.33 72.23 
		
	
	The Department's hourly rate is calculated as annual salary (plus reckonable allowances) divided by 52 (weeks) multiplied by the net weekly conditioned hours. For the purposes of this answer, temporary staff have been defined as those employees who are directly employed by the Department for fixed period of time.

Departmental Public Expenditure

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department and its predecessor spent on  (a) new furnishings,  (b) art and  (c) new vehicles in each of the last three years.

Parmjit Dhanda: Communities and Local Government was created on 5 May 2006. The information that follows therefore includes both CLG and its predecessor Department ODPM.
	In relation to expenditure on new furnishings, I refer to the answer given to the hon. Member for Fareham on 24 June 2008,  Official Report, column 260W.
	The Department has not incurred any expenditure on works of art. Those works displayed within HQ buildings are on loan from the Government Art Collection.
	In relation to expenditure on new vehicles, I refer to the answer given to the hon. Member for Taunton (Mr. Browne) on 18 February 2008,  Official Report, column 15W.

Departmental Vetting

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what procedures her Department follows for checking the criminal records of employees; and if she will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: All new entrants to the Department are required to complete a Baseline Security Standard Criminal Record Declaration Form. The Department is registered with Disclosure Scotland to carry out one in five criminal record checks on our behalf and we are working towards carrying out 100 per cent. checks.
	100 per cent. checks are carried out on employees in posts where national security vetting is applied.

Departmental Vetting

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of successful applicants for jobs in her Department are subjected to a criminal records check; how many  (a) successful applicants and  (b) criminal records checks there were in each of the last 10 years; how many successful applicants were found to have a criminal record after a criminal records check took place in each of the last 10 years; whether the selection of successful candidates to be subjected to a criminal records check is random or targeted; and if she will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: All new entrants to the Department are required to complete a Baseline Security Standard Criminal Record Declaration Form. The Department registered with Disclosure Scotland on 20 May 2008 to carry out random one in five criminal record checks on our behalf and we are working towards carrying out 100 per cent. checks. 100 per cent. checks are carried out on employees in posts where national security vetting is applied.
	Information on numbers of successful candidates, criminal record checks and applicants found to have a criminal record in the past 10 years is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Disadvantaged: Chorley

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when Chorley borough council entered into partnership with NCH for delivery of the vulnerable families scheme; and what progress has been made in identifying vulnerable families in the Chorley area under the scheme.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Vulnerable Households project is run in partnership between Chorley and South Ribble LSPs (Local Strategic Partnerships). It moved into partnership with NCH during the development phase of the project at the outset the 2007-08 financial year.
	The project is currently moving into its second phase of development which is focused on identifying families for support, with the intention to identify 15 families in Chorley and another 15 in South Ribble. These families are being selected using Common Assessment Framework (CAF) methodology based on their impact on local communities and the demands which they are currently placing on public services.

Eco-towns

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which of the proposed eco-town bids involve development of  (a) open fields and  (b) woodland.

Caroline Flint: Summary descriptions for each of the shortlisted eco-towns locations are set out in the consultation document, Eco-townsLiving a greener future, and further information about the schemes, including the site are available through the Department's website. Many of the shortlisted bids make significant use of previously developed (brownfield) land. However, in some cases development on greenfield land may be appropriate.

Eco-towns

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government who will be providing ecological expertise and advice to the panel assessing eco-town proposals.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 26 June 2008
	The members of the Eco-towns Challenge were announced by press releases on 9 April and 19 May. They have expertise in sustainable development, design, environment, green living and energy and their role is to work with bidders to help them develop and improve their plans. Feedback from the panel's first round of meetings has been published on my Department's website and shows that they are challenging bidders on biodiversity and green infrastructure where they think this is an issue with the scheme.

Eco-towns Challenge Panel: Business Interests

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 19 May 2008,  Official Report, column 38W, on the Eco-towns Challenge Panel: political impartiality, whether the members of the panel are required to declare other pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests.

Caroline Flint: All members of the Eco-towns Challenge Panel were asked to declare pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests in the shortlisted locations ahead of their participation. The panel will work with bidders to help them develop and improve their plans and have no responsibility for assessing proposalsthis will be the responsibility of Government, and Ministers will make the final decision on locations with potential to go forward as eco-towns.

Eco-Towns: Planning Permission

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for the successful eco-town bidders to be announced.

Caroline Flint: Following further consultation and assessment over the summer we expect to announce the final shortlist of locations with potential to go forward as an eco-town later in the year. Schemes will then need to be taken forward into the local planning process, where they will undergo further testing and consultation.

Emergency Services: Fuels

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance she has issued to emergency planning departments on the provision of fuel to essential users during times of shortage.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	Contingency plans are in place at local level to deal with fuel shortages resulting from events such as industrial action. The National Emergency Plan for Fuel (NEP-F) provides guidance to those responsible for emergency planning on the provision of fuel to essential users such as the emergency services and other essential service providers in the event of a significant disruption to fuel supplies.

Empty Properties: Charities

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether charities which own property that they lease or rent out, but do not occupy for charitable work, are liable for empty property rates when that property is empty.

John Healey: Where the liable ratepayer of an empty property is a charity the property will be exempt from empty property rates if it appears that when next in use the property will be wholly or mainly used for a charitable purpose.

Fire Service College

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the job specification of the Chief Executive of the Fire Service College is.

Parmjit Dhanda: The role and responsibilities of the chief executive of the Fire Service College are as set out in the 2005 Framework Document. The chief executive is responsible for the day-to-day running of the agency, its overall performance and the efficiencies of its operations. As the accounting officer for the college's Trading Fund, the chief executive is responsible for ensuring that proper procedures are followed for securing the propriety and regularity of the public funds for which he or she is responsible.

Fire Service College: Finance

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her Department's medium-term financial strategy for the Fire Service College.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department's medium-term financial strategy for the Fire Service College is to ensure that it can consistently fulfil its obligations as a trading fund to cover its costs and achieve a return of 4 per cent. on capital employed. The Department is working with the college to achieve this.

Fire Service College: Recruitment

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the position of Chief Executive of the Fire Service College was first advertised.

Parmjit Dhanda: The position of chief executive of the Fire Service College has not yet been advertised. Sally Sheen, currently director of Training Delivery and deputy chief executive, has been appointed acting chief executive and accounting officer for the Fire Service College Trading Fund with effect from 1 July 2008.

Fire Service College: Resignations

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what date her Department received the resignation of the Chief Executive of the Fire Service College.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department does not release personal information about individual members of staff. It is a matter of public record that on 30 May the current chief executive announced that she would be retiring from the college at the end of June.

Home Information Packs

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to make home condition reports a compulsory component of home information packs.

Caroline Flint: The Home Condition Report remains a valuable element of the Home Information Pack. The Government will continue to work with stakeholders to make a success of the voluntary uptake of the HCR. The mandatory option has not been ruled out should this voluntary approach not work.

Housing: Standards

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effects of current housing market conditions on meeting the Government's house building targets.

Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne (Julia Goldsworthy) on 12 June 2008,  Official Report, column 497W.

Housing: Sustainable Development

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what requirements of the Code for Sustainable Housing will apply to homes in eco-towns; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: One of the key criteria for eco-towns is that the development as a whole should reach zero carbon standards, be planned in a way which supports low carbon living and incorporates high standards of water efficiency. As we set out in the Eco-towns Prospectus, schemes should use the Code for Sustainable Homes as a guide on sustainability issues and in Eco-townsLiving a greener future we have set out how eco-towns could achieve higher standards in these areas.

Housing: Sustainable Development

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how the new home developments planned in eco-towns are to be incorporated into  (a) regional spatial strategies and  (b) local development frameworks.

Caroline Flint: The way in which housing developed as part of the eco-towns programme contributes to regional spatial strategies and local development frameworks is set out in the consultation document, Eco-townsLiving a greener future, in particular in Annex A, paragraph 6.

INTERREG Programme

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to designate a body under the European Grouping of Territorial Co-operation provisions.

Parmjit Dhanda: Under the European Communities Regulation on the European Grouping of Territorial Co-operation (EGTC) and the UK 2007 regulations giving full effect to the European regulations, the initiative to participate in such a grouping lies with those bodies intending such participation. The regulations provide that any body wishing to become a member of such a grouping must first seek approval from the appropriate authority, which in the case of bodies formed under UK law is currently the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

Local Authorities: Closed Circuit Television

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance has been given to local authorities on the use of CCTV systems to monitor members of the public.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has given no guidance to local authorities on the use of CCTV systems to monitor members of the public. Policy responsibility for this area lies with Home Office. CCTV operated by local authorities is covered by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and by the Data Protection Act 1998.

Local Authorities: Consultants

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make it her policy to collect information and to report annually on local authority expenditure on consultancy services.

Parmjit Dhanda: No.

Local Authorities: Political Parties

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what  (a) duties and  (b) powers she has to intervene where a political grouping within a local authority is subject to influence by extremists.

Parmjit Dhanda: Guidance for Local Authorities on Community Cohesion Contingency Planning and Tension Monitoring published last month reflects the reality that there are individuals and organisations in society, whose activities, motivated by extremist views, may have a negative impact on local community relations.
	All local authority members must observe the Code of Conduct for Local Authority Members (the Code), which prescribes the standards of conduct expected of members and co-opted members of local authorities in England. The Code includes provisions, for instance, which provide that members must treat others with respect, must not do anything which may cause their authority to breach any equality enactments and must not conduct themselves in a manner which could reasonably be regarded as bringing their office or authority into disrepute.
	Anyone who has concerns that a local authority member has breached the provisions of the Code may make a written allegation to their local authority's standards committee. Standards committees will consider such allegations and, in all but the most serious of cases, reach determinations and where appropriate impose a sanction.
	Standards committees are independent of central Government and the Secretary of State has no powers to intervene in their consideration of allegations. The conduct regime is overseen by a NDPB called the Standards Board for England, who issues guidance and monitors the work of local authority standards committees.

Local Government Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the report produced for her Department by Comtel Ltd on the review of the local finance team structure.

Parmjit Dhanda: A copy of the report has been placed in the Library of the House.
	Please note that due to an error in the reply to the hon. Member's question on 20 May 2008,  Official  Report, column 263W, the wrong supplier has been attributed as the producer of this report. I can confirm that this contract was awarded to Alsbridge Ltd, though the report itself was prepared by Hitachi Consulting who are a registered subcontractor to Alsbridge on the OGC Buying Solutions Catalist Framework.

Local Government Finance: Regional Spatial Strategies

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what role the housing targets set out in regional spatial strategies play in determining the level of revenue support grant for a local authority.

John Healey: None.

Official Hospitality: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 8 May 2008,  Official Report, column 1089W, on official hospitality: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, what the date was of the Chinese Ambassador's visit to Mr. Chu's China Palace with the then Deputy Prime Minister.

Parmjit Dhanda: 2 April 2004.

Planning Permission: Gardens

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what powers councils have to  (a) create a policy in their Local Development Framework and  (b) issue Supplementary Planning guidance, that (i) protects gardens from over-development and (ii) separates gardens from other types of brownfield land for the purposes of meeting brownfield development targets.

Iain Wright: Local authorities have always had the power to turn down applications for inappropriate housing development in back gardens and new planning policies in Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing (PPS3) that came into force in April 2007 have strengthened those powers further.
	Local authorities have powers under Part II of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 to prepare local development documents, and in doing so must have regard to national policies issued by the Secretary of State. Through PPS3, councils have now been given the ability to set local policies that specifically protect gardens and separate gardens out from their wider brownfield development targets. For instance, they could choose to concentrate housing development on available vacant or derelict land rather than on previously-residential or garden land. They can set separate targets in their Local Development Framework for different kinds of brownfield land, to distinguish between residential sites and other kinds of brownfield land.

Regeneration: Canvey Island

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2008,  Official Report, column 281W, on flood control: Canvey Island, what factors are impeding regeneration of Canvey Island.

Caroline Flint: Canvey Island is part of the Thames Gateway regeneration area and Castle Point borough council and Essex county council could receive grants, subject to satisfactory HM Treasury compliant appraisals, to deliver the Government's Thames Gateway objectives. These grants would support various regeneration objectives such as improving skills, employment opportunities, transport infrastructure, better public spaces and appropriate housing growth. This support would be in addition to the Government's primary mechanism for establishing local priorities for action, including regeneration priorities, which is through the negotiation of improvement targets set out in local area agreements. Negotiations of these targets are conducted between government offices for the regions and local and regional strategic partners from public, private and third sectors.

Regeneration: Merseyside

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the Regeneration Framework being considered by her Department, what recent analysis of deprivation in  (a) Merseyside,  (b) Wirral and  (c) Birkenhead she has completed; what steps she plans to take in light of the analysis; and if she will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Indices of Deprivation 2007 (ID 2007) which were published on 6 December 2007 provide a deprivation score and rank for each area in England. Analysis of the ID 2007 has contributed to the Regeneration Framework which will be published for consultation in the summer.

Valuation Office: ICT

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the guidance given to local authorities on producing electronic billing authority reports for the Valuation Office Agency.

John Healey: Guidance to the billing authorities is provided in the form of help pages on the e-BARs' secure internet website. I will place a copy of the guidance in the Library.

Valuation Office: ICT

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will publish the XML specifications for a Valuation Office Agency electronic billing authority report.

John Healey: The XML schemas can be found at:
	http://www.govtalk.gov.uk/schemasstandards/schemalibrary_ schema.asp?schemaid=256

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Secondary School Standards

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent assessment he has made of standards of teaching in secondary schools.

Jim Knight: Ofsted judges the effectiveness of teaching and learning as part of school inspection. The latest published figures from Ofsted covering the 2006-07 academic year show that teaching and learning were judged good or outstanding in 52 per cent. of secondary schools, and satisfactory or better in 95 per cent.. There was a notable increase that year in the proportion of secondary schools where teaching and learning were found to be outstandingup from 5 per cent. to 8 per cent.

Apprenticeships

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what plans he has to increase the number of apprenticeships for 16 and 17-year-olds.

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what plans he has to increase the number of apprenticeships for 16 and 17-year-olds.

Jim Knight: Our plans to improve the quality, and expand the number and range of apprenticeships available for young people were outlined in World-class Apprenticeships. We are introducing an entitlement to an apprenticeship place for all suitably qualified young people who want one and our ambition is that one in five of all young people will be an apprentice. The expansion of apprenticeships will support our plan to raise the participation age in learning.

Diplomas

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he next expects to meet representatives of the Confederation of British Industry and other business organisations to discuss diploma qualifications.

Jim Knight: We have regular discussions with the CBI and other business organisations. The CBI were involved in the Expert Advisory Group on Diplomas in Humanities, Languages and Science. There are 81 businesses represented on the first 14 Diploma Development Partnerships (DDPs) others are being engaged as the three new DDPs are established. The change in curriculum that Diplomas represent, will help meet the business challenges of the global economy of the 21st century

Bullying

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of bullying of children with disabilities and special educational needs.

Kevin Brennan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given earlier to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Lynne Featherstone).

Bullying

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce levels of bullying of children with disabilities and special educational needs.

Kevin Brennan: We have produced tailored guidance which provides schools with comprehensive advice on how to prevent and tackle the bullying of children with special educational needs and disabilities. Heads and governors have statutory duties to prevent the bullying of these children which are outlined in the guidance. We are funding the Anti-Bullying Alliance and National Strategies to provide support and challenge for local authorities and schools to ensure the guidance is implemented effectively on the ground.

Child Care

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will review the level of charges for the inspection of child care facilities.

Beverley Hughes: We have listened carefully to the views of all those who responded to the fees and subsidies consultation and have published our response on Thursday 19 June 2008. In our response, we have made it clear that the fee levels will be held to modest increments over the coming years and a fairer system of fee banding introduced from September 2008. We intend to review the fee levels for 2011 and beyond in 2009-10.

GCSE

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the socio-economic characteristics of the catchment areas of schools achieving 30 per cent. or fewer GCSEs at grades A* to C.

Jim Knight: Most National Challenge schools serve areas where pupils are more likely than average to come from deprived backgroundsfor example as shown by eligibility for free school meals. Nonetheless, since there are many schools in similarly adverse socio-economic conditions where more than 30 per cent. of students gain five or more higher level GCSEs including English and mathematics, local deprivation should not be seen as an excuse for low achievement, but important content in assessing the level of support needed to improve academic standards.

NEETs

Phil Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many people under 18 years old were not in education, employment or training on the latest date for which figures are available.

Edward Balls: The latest figures show that 97,000 young people aged 16 and 17 were not in education, employment or training at the end of 2007. This represents a reduction of 12,600 young people from the end of 2006.

Pupil Funding

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what funding was provided per pupil for schools in the most recent period for which figures are available; and how much will be provided in 2008-09.

Jim Knight: Per pupil revenue funding for schools in 2007-08 was 4,730, or 5,520 when capital funding is included. The planned spend for 2008-09 is 5,150, or 6,030 with capital funding included. Figures are in cash terms.

Literacy

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what representations he has received on the literacy goals for the early years foundation stage.

Beverley Hughes: I have had many discussions, and received a range of representations on, the early learning goals in the Early Years Foundation Stage. The early learning goals are developmental milestones for children at the end of the EYFS, most of whom are aged five and over. The very strong consensus is that the majority of the goals are pitched appropriately, but some representations have questioned two specific goals on aspects of early literacy.
	The fact is that around a third of children already achieve those two goals, and evidence shows that children who develop well in the Foundation Stage go on to do well in primary school. I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement tabled today by the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, which announces that Sir Jim Rose has agreed to consider these two goals and in particular how we can make sure that the early learning goals for literacy set the right foundation for transition into the new primary school arrangements.

Free School Meals

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the report produced by Hull university on free school meals.

Kevin Brennan: My right hon. Friend, Alan Johnson, and I, met recently with the researchers who evaluated the Hull Eat Well Do Well initiative to discuss their findings on school meals and the other aspects of their pilot which involved a range of approaches to improving how children ate, at home as well as in school. We have followed the pilot closely, and found it extremely interesting to discuss the details.

Child Development Grant

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the cost of piloting the Child Development Grant of 200 for parents in 10 local authorities.

Kevin Brennan: The estimated overall cost of piloting the Child Development Grant is 12.75 million over three years.

Children: Day Care

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what information his Department collects on the adequacy of childcare provision; if his Department will publish that information; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of childcare provision in each local authority area in each year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: In May 2008 the Department published the 2007 Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents available online via the following link:
	www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/DCSF-RR025A.pdf
	which offers a view of the extent of child care provision and parental demand nationally.
	The sufficiency of child care provision can, however, only be assessed effectively on a local basis. As required by the Childcare Act 2006, all 150 top tier local authorities have recently completed and published their own child care sufficiency assessments analysing the extent of the provision of, and demand for, child care within their area, and any resultant sufficiency gaps.

Children: Day Care

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the maximum number of children is that can be looked after by a qualified childminder in a single setting; how many qualified childminders are permitted to work in the same setting; what procedures exist to ensure that the size of a building is suitable for the number of children being looked after; what other factors are taken into account when assessing the suitability of a childminder setting; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The current requirements for Ofsted registered child minders are set out in the National standards for under eights day care and childminding. These provide that, depending on the space available and the suitability of premises, each child minder may care for a maximum of six children under the age of eight, of whom no more than three children may be under the age of five. There is no limit to how many child minders can work in one setting. However, child minders are required to follow specific space requirements for the age and number of children being looked after and ensure that their premises are suitable for their purpose. From this September similar requirements will be carried forward in the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework for the 0 to five age range. However, where more than three child minders (including assistants) work together in a single setting they must be registered with Ofsted as other child care and will be required to follow the same requirements as nurseries.

Children: Day Care

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what his most recent estimate is of the number of nursery places for  (a) one year olds,  (b) two year olds and  (c) three to five year olds in (i) the maintained and (ii) the independent sector; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of surplus nursery places for  (a) under three olds and  (b) three to five year olds; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey collects information on the number of child care and early years places. However, respondents are not asked what places they have available for children of specific ages. Table 1 shows the estimated number of child care places by ownership of the provision in 2006.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of registered places, by ownership, 2006 
			   Full day care  (Full day care in children's centres)  Sessional  After school clubs  Holiday clubs  Child minders  Nursery schools  Primary schools with nursery and reception classes  Primary schools with reception but no nursery classes 
			 Total number of places 544,200 (37,700) 278,300 260,100 263,900 272,600 28,100 477,300 286,100 
			   
			  Private, voluntary and independent 477,900 (14,300) 265,700 200,500 181,200 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Private 379,400 (7,000) 83,000 90,100 97,500 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Voluntary 99,700 (7,400) 183,500 110,700 83,600 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			   
			  Maintained 54,300 (21,900) 12,800 56,300 71,200 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Local authority 30,600 (18,800) 9,600 31,400 56,700 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 School/college 24,000 (3,300) 3,200 25,300 14,500 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			   
			 Other 14,500 (1,700) 700 3,500 12,400 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Notes: 1. Places in full day care in children's centres are a subgroup of places in full day care; these places are also included in the 'Full day care' column of the table. 2. Places in early years provision in maintained schools are all run by local authorities. 
		
	
	The estimated number of vacancies in child care and early years providers in 2006 are shown in Table 2.
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of vacancies for children, 2006 
			   Number 
			 Full day care 81,000 
			 (Full day care in children's centres) (6,600) 
			 Sessional 29,300 
			 After school clubs 54,400 
			 Holiday clubs 76,700 
			 Child minders 67,000 
			 Nursery schools 2,000 
			 Primary schools with nursery and reception classes 45,800 
			 Primary schools with reception but no nursery classes 42,900 
			  Note:  1. Places in full day care in children's centres are a subgroup of places in full day care; these places are also included in the 'Full day care' column of the table.

Children: Day Care

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the average cost to local authorities of funding a childminding network in the latest period for which figures are available.

Beverley Hughes: The information requested is not held centrally.
	The Department encourages the establishment of childminding networks but it is for local authorities to decide whether or not to fund them, and to what extent, based upon prevailing priorities for securing sufficient child care as informed by their child care sufficiency assessments.

Children' Centres

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what information his Department has received from local authorities on their consultation and co-operation with local providers in delivering Sure Start children's centres from 2007-08 onwards; from which local authorities that information has come; if his Department will publish it; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The Planning guidance for Sure Start Children's Centres encourages local authorities to involve voluntary, private and independent organisations both in the planning and delivery of children's centre services.
	We do not collect information centrally on how local authorities undertake such consultation or how many of them use PVI organisations to provide services. However a survey of around 1,100 children's centres last year showed that 74 per cent. of children's centres had contracts with voluntary sector organisations to provide services and 57 per cent. were using a private sector organisation to provide child care services. We plan to run a further survey later this year and will publish the results of this when they are available.

Class Sizes: Young Offender Institutions

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average class size in  (a) youth offender institutions and  (b) secure training centres is.

Beverley Hughes: This information is not collected centrally. However contracts and costs for education in young offender institutions are based on class sizes of eight. The Youth Justice Board report that in secure training centres, young people are generally educated in groups of between five and eight.

Departmental Buildings

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the value of the property held by  (a) his Department and  (b) associated public bodies was at the most recent date for which figures are available.

Kevin Brennan: Net book value of the property held by the Department at 31 March 2008, 49,913,000.
	Net book value of the property held by the Department's associated public bodies at 31 March 2008, 3,420,042.

Departmental Manpower

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many jobs his Department expects to relocate under the policy of civil service job dispersal.

Kevin Brennan: The former Department for Education and Skills committed to meet its Lyons Review target to relocate out of London and the South East around 800 posts from its own organisation and its partner organisations by 2010. Following Machinery of Government changes in June 2007, the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) inherited a commitment to relocate out of London and the South East around 760 posts from its own organisation and its partner bodies by 2010.
	At the end of March 2008, 626 posts had been relocated out of London and the South East by my Department and its partner organisations, since monitoring began in April 2004. My Department is working with our partners, including the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and the Training and Development Agency for Schools, to continue to deliver further relocations of posts. We expect to meet and exceed the target.

Departmental Pilot Schemes

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which pilot projects initiated by his Department and its predecessor in the last two years have not proceeded to further roll-out.

Kevin Brennan: The policy initiatives that we pilot allow us to work in close partnership with local leaders and key partners to test and develop options that inform our decisions on wider implementation. It generally takes up to three years to rigorously test and evaluate a pilot initiative before deciding on the best model to roll out across the country. As such, I am unable to say at this point how many of the schemes initiated in the last two years will progress to a full national roll-out.
	For further information on the pilot schemes that my Department sponsors I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 1 April 2008,  Official Report, column 821W, to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws).

Departmental Vetting

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what procedures his Department follows for checking the criminal records of employees; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: All individuals recruited to the Department are subject to a basic criminal records check. As part of the application process individuals complete a self-declaration of their criminal records.
	In line with the HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard the Department undertakes a full independent check of unspent criminal records for all successful applicants, who are not in a regulated post.
	In addition to the Baseline Security checks, all individuals recruited to a regulated post, or to a post where they have access to personal or sensitive data about children or vulnerable adults, have been subject to, or are currently undergoing, enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check, as a matter of course.

Economic and Monetary Union

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families on what date the euro changeover plan of  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its agencies was last updated; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the most recent version of each.

Kevin Brennan: The DCSF Euro Changeover Plan is currently being reviewed and updated to take account of the Machinery of Government change in June 2007 and changes in the delivery of corporate systems over the next nine to 12 months. A copy of the completed document will be placed in the Library when this work is completed. The Department has no agencies.

GCE A-Level: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average A-Level point score was for pupils at schools in the London Borough of Bexley in  (a) 1997,  (b) 1998 and  (c) 2007.

Jim Knight: The point scores used in 1997 and 1998 are not comparable with scores from 2007.
	In 1997 and 1998, average point scores were calculated by assigning GCE A level grades A to E 10 to 2 points respectively and GCE AS grades A to E 5 to 1 respectively.
	
		
			   Average point score per student  Average point score per entry 
			   1997  1998  1997  1998 
			 Bexley 15.9 16.0 5.7 5.1 
			 England 17.3 17.8 5.3 5.4 
			  Notes:  1. Figures relate to 16 to 18-year-olds (age at start of academic year, i.e. 31 August) entered into two or more A levels.  2. Figures relate to students in maintained schools and colleges. 
		
	
	In 2006 a new point score system designed to take into account the new range of Level 3 equivalencies was created by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. Details on approved qualifications and their point scores can be found at:
	http://www.ndaq.org.uk
	
		
			   Average point score per student  Average point score per entry 
			   2006  2007  2006  2007 
			 Bexley 700.5 737.6 198.7 206.6 
			 England 700.9 711.2 202.2 203.6 
			  Notes:  1. Figures relate to 16 to 18-year-olds (age at start of academic year, i.e. 31 August) entered into an A level or Level 3 qualification equivalent in size to at least one A level.  2. Figures relate to students in maintained schools and colleges.

Parents: Education

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what recent steps the Government have taken to improve the parenting skills of vulnerable adults;
	(2)  what recent steps the Government have taken to provide support for children whose parents are in prison;
	(3)  what recent steps the Government have taken in partnership with third sector organisations to improve parenting skills.

Beverley Hughes: We have significantly increased funding (over 120 million for 2008-11) for targeted initiatives to support families with high levels of need, with a particular focus on parenting skills. These include Family Intervention Projects, the Parenting Early Intervention Programme, Respect Parenting Practitioners and funding for at least one new Parenting Expert in every local authority to provide evidence-based parenting programmes for parents of children who are considered to be at risk or those parents with problems that are known to put their children at risk.
	This is supported by an investment of 30 million to enable the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners, which was set up in November 2007, to develop the parenting workforce in Sure Start Children's Centres, schools and other local settings in both the statutory and third sectors. The Academy is providing training and support to increase the number of practitioners who can deliver evidence-based parenting programmes, particularly to vulnerable parents. They are also working closely with other third sector organisations to improve the availability and quality of parenting support across England.
	We fund a range of third sector organisations through the Children, Young People and Families (CYPF) grant programme, the Parenting Fund and the Parent Know How Programme to provide support services to parents and families, including help with their parenting skills. This includes structured parenting programmes, support groups, counselling and helplines. Parenting services for some of the country's most vulnerable, including teenage parents, disabled parents and families facing break up are to get a share of up to 8 million in 2008-09 through the Parenting Fund.
	In January, we published the joint priority review on the children of offenders with the Ministry of Justice. This includes commitments to explore ways in which the National Offender Management Service and children's services can assess and meet a child's needs when a parent goes to prison; and to set clear and achievable expectations of offender managers and local partners to improve support for these families.
	We have highlighted the families of offenders as being a priority group to local authorities in their work to decide where to target DCSF-funded parenting and family support. A recent communication on the remit for the new Parenting Experts highlighted parents who are offenders (including those in prison).

Primary Education: Standards

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of children achieved the national standard in each Key Stage 1 examination in each year for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The number and percentage of key stage 1 pupils achieving level 2 or above is given as follows:
	
		
			   Mathematics  Reading  Writing  Science 
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 1995 79 470,733 78 466,536 80 477,305   
			 1996 82 491,493 78 464,613 79 474,641   
			 1997 84 512,710 80 489,518 80 490,220   
			 1998 84 529,029 80 500,824 81 507,849   
			 1999 87 544,042 82 513,012 83 519,641   
			 2000 90 542,878 83 504,624 84 511,039   
			 2001 91 546,054 84 505,694 86 515,812   
			 2002 90 531,880 84 495,660 86 506,122   
			 2003 90 523,317 84 487,942 81 470,988   
			 2004(1) 90 531,505 85 499,050 82 480,906   
			 2005(2) 91 517,999 85 484,803 82 469,169 90 510,523 
			 2006 90 507,340 84 474,514 81 457,285 89 501,429 
			 2007 90 491,352 84 457,904 80 439,007 89 485,774 
			 (1 )The figures for 2004 are derived from combining task/test results for non trial schools and teacher assessment results for trial schools. (2 )Due to a change in policy the figures for 2005 onwards are taken from teacher assessment results.  Notes: 1. Prior to 2004, results of pupils in tasks/tests at key stage 1 were reported alongside teacher assessments.  2. In 2004, new assessment arrangements where only teacher assessments (informed by task/test results) were reported were trialled in some LAs. In 2005 this trial was rolled out to all LAs and from 2005 to date teacher assessments, informed by the outcomes of national tasks and tests are reported. As a result, figures for results from 2004 onwards are not directly comparable with those prior to 2004, and care is needed in interpreting trends in the data.

Pupil Exclusions: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils were excluded from each Milton Keynes school in each year since 1997.

Kevin Brennan: All of the requested information could be provided only at disproportionate costs.
	Tables showing the number and percentage of permanent exclusions for a selection of years within the requested timeframe have been placed in the Library. The information relates to schools in Milton Keynes local authority area in 1997/98, 2000/01, 2003/04 and 2005/06.
	School level exclusions data relating to 2006/07 school year will be available from 10 July 2008 (when local authority level figures are published).

Schools: Berwick-upon-Tweed

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will visit Berwick-upon-Tweed to discuss spending on schools in the area.

Jim Knight: DCSF Ministers receive many invitations to visit schools across the country to discuss their individual circumstances and issues. While it is not possible to accept all of these, Ministers do look carefully at the issues in question and diary commitments when considering each invitation. I therefore ask the hon. Member to contact my office with details of the proposed visit and the issues he would like to discuss, to allow proper consideration of his invitation.

Schools: Sports

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families at what proportion of secondary schools in  (a) England,  (b) London and  (c) each London local authority area pupils played (i) four hours or more sport a week and (ii) competitive inter-school sport in 2006-07.

Kevin Brennan: The annual school sport survey collects data relating to participation in PE and sport by five to 16-year-olds in England. This enables us to measure progress towards our PSA target to have at least 85 per cent. of pupils doing at least two hours high quality PE and sport each week by September 2008. Currently, 86 per cent. of young people are doing the two hours. The survey does not collect data relating to the proportion of secondary schools in which pupils participate in four hours or more of sport each week.
	The most recent survey found that 31 per cent. of five to 16-year-olds in England currently participate in inter school sporting competition. The figure for all London local authorities is also 31 per cent. Copies of the results of the survey can be found in the Libraries of both Houses.
	From next year, progress towards our new target of five hours of sport for young people will be measured by a range of means including: the annual school sport survey; extensive face to face interviews with young people; and Sport England's Active People survey.

Schools: Vacancies

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many staff vacancies in all primary and secondary schools in  (a) Basingstoke and  (b) Hampshire there were in each year for which figures are available;
	(2)  what the average number of staff vacancies in  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools in (i) Basingstoke, (ii) Hampshire and (iii) England was in each year for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The number of vacancies for all staff in primary and secondary schools is not collected centrally.
	Information is available for teacher vacancies for individual local authorities but not by constituency. The following table provides the number of full-time vacancies in Hampshire local authority and England and the average of these for each year where figures are available.
	
		
			  Full-time vacancies( 1)  in local authority maintained nursery/primary and secondary schools, January of each year. Coverage: England and Hampshire local authority, 1994 to 2008 
			   Hampshire LA  England 
			   Nursery/primary  Secondary  Nursery/primary  Secondary 
			 1994 (2) (2) 769 628 
			 1995 (2) (2) 793 517 
			 1996 (2) (2) 861 587 
			 1997 (2) (2) 1,088 726 
			 1998 38 19 1,390 970 
			 1999 36 57 1,370 940 
			 2000 89 53 1,420 1,250 
			 2001 82 85 2,110 2,590 
			 2002 31 40 1,796 2,447 
			 2003 27 47 1,114 2,050 
			 2004 11 19 778 1,627 
			 2005 5 26 743 1,553 
			 2006 4 25 709 1,340 
			 2007 7 21 658 1,214 
			 2008(3) (4) (4) 872 1,471 
			 Average vacancies 33 39 1,098 1,327 
			 (1) Advertised vacancies for full-time permanent appointments (or appointments of at least one terms duration). Includes vacancies being filled on a temporary basis of less than one term. (2 )Not applicable: Local government re-organisation in April 1998 means that comparable figures are not available for these years. (3) Provisional. (4 )Not available.  Source:  Annual survey of teachers in service and teachers vacancies, 618g.

Teachers: Immigrants

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many language schools have been found to be in breach of the immigration rules relating to qualified language teachers in the last two years; what the  (a) shortest,  (b) longest and  (c) median time was that such a school remained on the Register of Education and Training Providers while working towards compliance with the rules in (i) London and (ii) Manchester; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  when he plans to answer Question 208659 tabled by the hon. Member for Manchester Central on 2 June 2008 for answer on 5 June; and what the reason is for the time taken to respond.

Liam Byrne: holding answers 5 June and 23 June 2008
	I have been asked to reply.
	The original question has been passed to me to reply to as the Minister responsible for matters relating to immigration at the Home Office.
	I apologise for the delay in providing this reply.
	Since the inception of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills' Register of Education and Training Providers (RETP) on 1 January 2005, UK Border Agency compliance visits have resulted in the removal of 143 providers from the register on the basis that they were not bona fide for the purposes of the immigration rules. Applications for visas and further leave to remain from students wishing to study at these colleges have since been refused.
	I am afraid that UKBA does not keep records which can identify the specific type of educational establishment found to be in breach of the immigration rules. I regret that I am unable, therefore, to let you know how many of the 143 were language schools.
	The introduction of the new Points Based System means that colleges will soon need to apply direct to UKBA for a Licence to bring in non-EEA students. No Licences will be issued to colleges that are not independently accredited. Use of the Licences, once issued, will be rigorously policed.

Truancy

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps the Government has taken to tackle truancy through parental action.

Kevin Brennan: My Department focuses on reducing all unnecessary absences from schools. Overall absence rates have been substantially lower than the 1996-97 rate of 7.23 per cent. in all but two of the last nine years for which full data are available and in 2006-07 stood at a record low level of 6.49 per cent. Our focus on supporting schools with the highest levels of persistent absence has resulted in those schools achieving an average reduction in the number of persistent absentees of over 25 per cent.
	We have worked with local authorities to promote the importance of good school attendance to parents and discourage parents from keeping their children out of school unnecessarily. Working with Becta, we have also assisted schools' use of modern technology to contact absentees' parents.
	We expanded the measures to tackle poor attendance through parental action in the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003. These provisions came into force in February 2004 and provided a balanced package of support (parenting contracts) and sanctions (penalty notices) to parents in order to engage them and to reinforce parental responsibility for their children's regular school attendanceadding to the options of prosecution and parenting orders which had been previously available to local authorities.
	All 150 local authorities have used at least one of the measures to address and improve school attendance problems.
	An independent research report published in March 2008 showed that 80 per cent. of local authorities using parenting contracts agreed with parents had found them to be successful in reducing poor attendance levels in schools.
	Data on parental responsibility measures for attendance are provided at local authority level and are published at:
	www.dfes.gov.uk/schoolattendance/otherinitiatives/Data.cfm

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Apprentices: Armed Forces

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many military apprenticeships were  (a) undertaken and  (b) completed in North Yorkshire in each of the last three years.

David Lammy: The number of military apprentices which started and completed their apprenticeship in North Yorkshire in each of the last three years is given in the following table:
	
		
			  Academic year  Total starts and completions 
			 2005/06 1,530 
			 2006/07 1,524 
			 2007/08 1,555 
			 Total 4,609 
			  Notes: 1. There are no RAF or Royal Navy Apprenticeships in North Yorkshire. 2. These figures are apprenticeships in the Army in North Yorkshire. 3. Training conducted at the Army Foundation College (Harrogate).

Dementia: Research

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the answer of 10 June 2008,  Official Report, column 202W, on how much of the 6.4 million spent on research into dementia was spent in  (a) England,  (b) Scotland,  (c) Wales and  (d) Northern Ireland.

Ian Pearson: In 2006-07, the MRC spent approximately 6.4 million on research on dementias in the UK in the form of research grants and fellowships at UK universities and medical schools, and programmes within the MRC's own research units and institutes. The geographical breakdown of this expenditure was as follows:
	
		
			  Location in UK  Spend in 2006-07  ( million) 
			 England 5.5 
			 Scotland 0.2 
			 Wales 0.7 
			 Northern Ireland 0

Departmental Buildings

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many  (a) new builds and  (b) major refurbishments were completed by his Department for a cost in excess of 0.5 million in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08 to which the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method or equivalent was applied; how many such buildings were assessed as (A) pass, (B) good, (C) very good and (D) excellent; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: Since its creation in June 2007, DIUS had one refurbishment onlyof Kingsgate House in Londoncarried out in its behalf (by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which supplies us with estates services). A Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment was not carried out because the project principally comprised a strip out of existing floors and creation of newly-configured office space and did not involve stripping the building back to its core, nor overhauling the main building plant. The work did, however, include environmentally-friendly changes like the installation of motion-sensitive lighting.

Departmental Buildings

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many  (a) new builds and  (b) major refurbishments for a cost in excess of 0.5 million were completed by his Department in each year since its establishment.

David Lammy: This Department had one refurbishment project carried out (in 2007-08) on its behalf by the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, which supplies us with estates services, to enable London staff to be brought together into one building from the five separate sites on which they were based when the Department was created.

Departmental Vetting

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what procedures his Department follows for checking the criminal records of employees; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: The Department was created in the machinery of government changes announced on 28 June 2007 when staff from the former Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) were incorporated into the new Department.
	All individuals recruited to the Department and formerly the DTI are subject to a basic criminal records check. As part of the application process individuals complete a self-declaration of their criminal records. In line with the HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard the Department undertakes a random 20 per cent. basic criminal records check for those not in a regulated post.
	In addition to the Baseline Security checks, all individuals recruited to a regulated post, or to a post where they have access to personal or sensitive data about children or vulnerable adults, have been subject to, or are currently undergoing, enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check, as a matter of course.

Departmental Vetting

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what percentage of successful applicants for jobs in his Department are subjected to a criminal records check; how many  (a) successful applicants and  (b) criminal records checks there were in each of the last 10 years; how many successful applicants were found to have a criminal record after a criminal records check took place in each of the last 10 years; whether the selection of successful candidates to be subjected to a criminal records check is random or targeted; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: The Department was created in the machinery of government changes announced on 28 June 2007 when staff from the former Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) were incorporated into the new Department.
	All individuals recruited to the Department and the former DTI are subject to a basic criminal records check. As part of the application process individuals complete a self-declaration of their criminal records. In line with the HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard the Department undertakes a random 20 per cent. basic criminal records check for those not in a regulated post.
	The number, by year, of applicants who have been checked is not held centrally and is available only at disproportionate cost.
	In addition to the Baseline Security Checks, the Department completes Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks for employees. All individuals recruited to a regulated post, or to a post where they have access to personal or sensitive data about children or vulnerable adults, are subject to a targeted enhanced CRB check.
	Since the formation of this Department in 2007 no CRB checks have been carried out.

Higher Education: Admissions

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many students from each socio-economic category participated in higher education in each year since 1995.

Bill Rammell: Information is available on full-time young (aged 18-20) participation in higher education by socio-economic class. Table 1 shows the following:
	1. The proportion of 18 to 20-year-olds from the top three socio-economic classes who participate for the first time in full-time higher education;
	2. The proportion of 18 to 20-year-olds from the bottom four socio-economic classes who participate for the first time in full-time higher education;
	3. The difference, or gap, between these two rates.
	
		
			  Table 1: Full-time young participation by socio-economic class (FYPSEC) 
			  Percentage 
			   Academic year 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Percentage from NS-SECs 1, 2 and 3 44.1 40.9 41.2 42.8 39.5 
			 Percentage from NS-SECs 4, 5, 6 and 7 17.5 17.8 17.4 19.8 19.0 
			 Difference 26.5 23.1 23.7 22.9 20.5 
			  Source: DIUS 
		
	
	The figures cover English-domiciled 18 to 20-year-olds who are studying for the first time at higher education level at UK higher education institutions or English further education colleges, who remain on their courses for at least six months.
	2006-07 was an exceptional year in the higher education sector, due to the significant changes brought about by the introduction of variable fees and the new student support package. We expected, and saw, a drop in student numbers that year, following record numbers in the preceding year.
	We are already seeing the position recover from 2006-07: according to UCAS figures, 307,000 applicants from England have been accepted for entry in 2007, a rise of 6 per cent. from 2006. This is the highest figure ever. Furthermore, the proportion of accepted applicants from England who are from the bottom four socio-economic classes increased from 31.7 per cent. in 2006 to 32.1 per cent. in 2007the highest figure to date. And the latest applicant figures for 2008 entry show that applicants from England are again up by 6 per cent.
	The Government remain committed to widening participation in higher education. It is an economic as well as a social imperative that everyone who can benefit from higher education has the opportunity to do so. Widening participation is about spotting and nurturing talent, with schools, colleges and universities working together to ensure that all those with the potential and merit to benefit from higher education are able to do so.

Space Technology

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps the Government is taking to support space science.

Ian Pearson: The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) provides support for space science, and the UK research programme in space science is mainly delivered through the European Space Agency (ESA). The British National Space Centre co-ordinates civil space activity and has recently published the UK Civil Space Strategy 2008-12.
	STFC provided 88.0 million in 2006-07 and 95.6 million in 2007-08 in support for space science. These figures do not include support for earth observation provided by the Natural Environment Research Council.
	The support allows UK scientists to take the science lead and provide scientific instruments for international space missions designed to expand our knowledge of the universe. It also provides opportunities for the UK space industry to bid for industrial contracts.

Trade Associations

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the likely effect on the numbers of spurious actions of the introduction of a right of representative action for trade associations.

Ian Pearson: The Department has made no such assessment.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accident and emergency units have  (a) opened and  (b) closed in each constituency in each year since 1997-98.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is not available in the format requested. National health service trusts self-report the total number of accident and emergency (AE) services they provide against definitions provided by the Department for the three types of AE on a quarterly basis. This includes information on the number of self-reported type one (major) AE services at national and strategic health authority level.
	It is a matter for the local national health service to ensure that emergency care services are provided that are responsive to people's needs. Changes to services are a matter for local, not central decision.

Anaesthetics

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many recorded cases there were of anaesthetic awareness in each of the last three years, broken down by region;
	(2)  what  (a) support,  (b) counselling,  (c) information and  (d) guidance is available to patients who experience post-traumatic stress disorder after experiencing anaesthetic awareness;
	(3)  what proportion of incident and accident forms were sent to the National Patient Safety Agency following cases of anaesthetic awareness in each of the last two years.

Ann Keen: Information about reported incidents of anaesthetic awareness available from the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS) is contained in the following table:
	
		
			  Strategic Health Authority (SHA)  2005  2006  2007  Total number 
			 East Midlands SHA 1 0 2 3 
			 East of England SHA 0 0 1 1 
			 North East SHA 0 0 1 1 
			 North West SHA 2 0 2 4 
			 South Central SHA 0 1 1 2 
			 South West SHA 1 0 0 1 
			 Total 4 1 7 12 
		
	
	These numbers may under-represent the total number of incidents. All national health service organisations are asked to send details on all the patient safety related incidents that are reported to them via local risk management systems to the NPSA's NRLS. For the majority of organisations, these incidents can be automatically uploaded to the NRLS. In the most recent quarter 98 per cent. of incidents received by the NRLS were reported via this route. However, the NPSA is unable to confirm whether all relevant incidents reported locally to NHS organisations are subsequently reported to the NRLS.
	The Royal College of Anaesthetists has published Information for Patients: Risks Associated with your Anaesthetic, which was revised in June 2008. This informs patients that awareness during anaesthesia can occasionally happen, what steps are taken to prevent it and what to do if they think it has happened to them. Patients who report that they think they have been aware can expect that the hospital will ensure the anaesthetist is promptly informed; that the anaesthetist who conducted the anaesthetic will spend time with them and they may be offered further counselling. More information can be found at:
	www.rcoa.ac.uk/index.asp?PageID=836

Blood: Contamination

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of documents relating to the infection of haemophiliacs by contaminated blood products that were rediscovered by his Department have not been released to the Independent Inquiry into Contaminated Blood and Blood Products chaired by Lord Archer QC of Sandwell; under what provisions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 these documents have been withheld; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Some 4,500 documents were discovered in unregistered files, and subsequently issued to Lord Archer's Inquiry and placed onto the Department's website.
	In total 18 documents were withheld entirely, and 17 documents partly withheld, under the following exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act:
	
		
			  Exemption  Document withheld  Part of document withheld  Total documents wholly or partly withheld 
			 Section 38Health and Safety 1 9 10 
			 Section 40Personal information 3 6 9 
			 Section 42Legal professional privilege 8 1 9 
			 Section 43Commercial interests 6 1 7 
			 Total 18 17 35

Blood: Contamination

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of documents returned to his Department by Blackett, Hart and Pratt Solicitors have not been released to the independent inquiry into contaminated blood and blood products; under what provisions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 these documents have been withheld; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Of around 600 documents returned by the firm of private solicitors, one document has been withheld under Section 40 (personal information) of the Freedom of Information Act.

Cancer: Death

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the death rate from cancer is in  (a) Chorley,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) England.

Tom Watson: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated June 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the death rate from cancer is in  (a) Chorley,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) England. (213651)
	The table attached provides the age-standardised mortality rate, where cancer was the underlying cause of death, for (i) Chorley local authority, (ii) Lancashire county and (iii) England, in 2006 (the latest year available).
	
		
			  Table 1: Age-standardised mortality rate per 100,000 population( 1, 2) , where cancer was the underlying cause of death( 3) , Chorley local authority, Lancashire county and England, 2006( 4, 5) 
			  Rate per 100,000 persons 
			  Area  Rate  95 per cent. confidence interval 
			 Chorley 179 (157-200) 
			 Lancashire 177 (171-183) 
			 England 176 (175-177) 
			 (1) Age-standardised mortality rates per 100,000 population, standardised to the European Standard Population. Age-standardised rates are used to allow comparison between populations which may contain different proportions of people of different ages.  (2) Confidence intervals are a measure of the statistical precision of an estimate and show the range of uncertainty around the estimated figure. Calculations based on small numbers of events are often subject to random fluctuations. As a general rule, if the confidence interval around one figure overlaps with the interval around another, we cannot say with certainty that there is more than a chance difference between the two figures.  (3) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C00-C97.  (4) Based on boundaries as of 2008.  (5) Figures are for deaths registered in 2006.

Cancer: Urinary System

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which cancer networks  (a) had and  (b) had not implemented the Improving Outcomes in Urological Cancers guidance as at December 2007.

Ann Keen: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for South West Norfolk (Christopher Fraser) on 13 May 2008,  Official Report, columns 1538-40W.

Community Care

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many recipients of low-level care there were in England in each year since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: Information on numbers of people receiving national health service-funded nursing care is not broken down into care bands. The total number of people receiving NHS-funded nursing care, at 31 March, are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Number 
			 2003 58,751 
			 2004 119,018 
			 2005 125,573 
			 2006 117,939 
			 2007 123,452 
			  Source:  Local Delivery Plan Return line 8226. The figures do not include estimates made for organisations that failed to submit data.

Dental Services

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the  (a) adult and  (b) child population of (i) the North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust area, (ii) East Riding of Yorkshire Primary Care Trust area and (iii) England was registered with a dental practitioner in 2007.

Ann Keen: Under the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006, patients do not have to be registered with a national health service dentist to receive NHS care. The closest equivalent measure to registration' is the number of patients receiving NHS dental services ('patients seen') over a 24-month period. However, this is not directly comparable to the registration data for earlier years.
	Information on the number of patients seen by an NHS dentist over the previous 24-month period, as a percentage of the population, in England, is available in table C2 of Annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England: Quarter 3: 31 December 2007 report. Information is available for the 24-month periods ending 31 March 2006, 31 March 2007, 30 June 2007, 30 September 2007, and 31 December 2007. Information is provided for adults and children by strategic health authority and by primary care trust.
	This publication is available in the Library and is also available on the Information Centre for health and social care's website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstats0708q3

Dental Services

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether NHS dentists are required to provide a scale and polish under the Band 1 course of treatment.

Ann Keen: The national health service contractual requirement is for a dentist to provide all proper and necessary dental care and treatment that the patient is willing to undergo. A Band 1 course of treatment (diagnosis, treatment planning and maintenance) includes examination, diagnosis (for example X-rays), advice on how to prevent future problems, and scaling and polishing if clinically needed.

Dental Services: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists were employed in the London Borough of Havering in each of the last three years.

Ann Keen: Information is not available in the format requested.
	The number of national health service dentists on primary care trust (PCT) lists in England at 31 March, 1997 to 2006, is available in Annex of the report NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report England: 31 March 2006. The information is provided by strategic health authority (SHA) and by PCT. This information is based on the old contractual arrangements, which were in place up to and including 31 March 2006. The report, published on 23 August 2006, is available in the Library and is also available on the Information Centre (IC) for health and social care's website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-dental-activity-and-workforce-report-england-31-march-2006
	The number of dentists with open NHS contracts in England at 30 June 2006, 30 September 2006, 31 December 2006 and 31 March 2007 are available in Table E1 of Annex 3 of the report NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2006-07. This information is based on the new contractual arrangements introduced on 1 April 2006. The information is provided by SHA and by PCT. This report, published on 23 August 2007, is available in the Library and also on the IC's website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dental0607
	The numbers quoted are headcounts and do not differentiate between full-time and part-time dentists, nor do they account for the fact that some dentists may do more NHS work than others.
	The work force data provided in the 2006-07 report are the latest available. Both reports were published by the IC.

Dental Services: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding Havering Primary Care Trust received for NHS dental provision in each of the last three years.

Ann Keen: The primary dental service funding allocations made to Havering primary care trust (PCT) for each of the three years since PCTs assumed responsibility for commissioning all elements of primary dental care services on 1 April 2006, are set out in the following table. The table includes the Department's indicative assumptions in each year about dental charge income that might be paid by patients, and the indicative gross budget that might be available to the PCT.
	
		
			  Primary dental service funding allocations for Havering PCT 
			  000 
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Net allocation 8,202 8,683 9,643 
			 Indicative patient charge income 2,966 2,972 3,127 
			 Indicative gross budget 11,168 11,655 12,770 
			  Note: PCTs are awarded separate funding allocations to meet the cost of any dental vocational trainees who may be placed with dental practices in their area.

Departmental Travel

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department and its agencies spent on first class travel in the last 12 months for which figures are available, broken down by staff grade.

Ben Bradshaw: Travel arrangements are made in the most efficient and cost effective way, and all official travel is undertaken in accordance with the principles of Government Accounting and the Treasury Handbook on Regularity and Propriety.
	In the 12-month period from January 2007 to December 2007, the Department and its agencies spent on first class travel:
	
		
			   Cost () 
			 Rail travel 2,309,291 
			 Air travel 8,654 
		
	
	It is not possible to break this information down by staff grade as this can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Departmental travel policy is to use economy class air travel as a default and business class where reasonable, such as for long-haul flights. First class air travel is not booked unless there are very exceptional reasons.

Drinking Water

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on bottled water in the latest year for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department has spent 108,691.00 on bottled water in 2007.
	The Department is moving to the provision of tap water on its estate from July 2008.

Fibromyalgia

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence plans to issue guidelines on the treatment and management of fibromyalgia;
	(2)  what plans his Department has to improve the treatment of people with fibromyalgia; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: We are unaware of any plans the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence may have to publish guidelines on the treatment and management of fibromyalgia.
	There are no specific plans to improve the treatment for those living with fibromyalgia. It is the responsibility of local health bodies to commission and monitor the quality of health services provided for those with fibromyalgia.

General Practitioners: Havering Primary Care Trust

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the GP to patient ratio within Havering Primary Care Trust was in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The information requested can be found in the following table.
	The following table shows the number of patients per general practitioner (GP) in the Havering primary care trust (PCT) area, as at 30 September 2007. These are the latest figures available.
	
		
			  Havering PCT: Number of patients per GP, as at 30 September 2007 
			  Organisation  Number 
			 All GPs (excluding retainers and registrars) 130 
			 Registered patients 247,315 
			 Patients per GP 1,902 
			  Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care general and personal medical services statistics.

General Practitioners: Morecambe

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners per 100,000 of the population there are in Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not collected by constituency area. However, information on the number of general practitioners per 100,000 of population for the North Lancashire primary care trust (PCT) is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Selected statistics by PCT 
			   All practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) 
			   H eadcount  H eadcount per 100,000 population 
			 North Lancashire PCT 201 61.1 
			  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care

General Practitioners: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioner surgeries there were in the Peterborough City Council area in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 6 May 2008,  Official Report, column 761W.

General Practitioners: Working Hours

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GPs in each constituency are offering extended opening hours.

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of GP surgeries are open at 7 p.m.  (a) on weekdays and  (b) at weekends; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Information in the form requested is not held centrally. For the purposes of monitoring, the Department of Health is collecting on a monthly basis the numbers of general practitioner practices in each primary care trust area which offer extended opening hours, but this does not set out the opening hours of individual practices as this will depend on local patients' preferences. Statistics on extended opening hours are being published on a monthly basis, and, to date, May 2008 data are available, and copies have been placed in the Library.

General Practitioners: Working Hours

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what pilots of extended opening hours for GP surgeries have been undertaken by his Department; and what lessons have been learned.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department ran six pilots, as part of its Innovation in Primary Care Contracting Programme. The pilot aims were to: improve access to general practitioner (GP) services; provide more services from a greater range of providers closer to where patients live; and to encourage recruitment of GPs in areas with historic low levels. These pilots included offering longer opening hours, and valuable lessons were learnt and used to inform future centrally and locally supported procurements of GP services.
	Currently, 20 per cent. of practices in England are offering extended opening hours to their patients, and where these have been running for some time, they have proved popular with patients and GPs alike. Analysis of NHS Choices data shows that where practices deliver extended opening, neighbouring practices are twice as likely to follow suit.

Health Centres

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has to establish polyclinics in the Leicester Primary Care Trust area;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the likely effects on  (a) GP surgeries and  (b) hospitals of the establishment of a polyclinic in the same primary care trust area;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the average cost of opening a polyclinic;
	(4)  which stakeholders will be consulted upon decisions regarding the establishment of polyclinics;
	(5)  what involvement local GPs will have in the creation of a polyclinic;
	(6)  what plans he has for public consultation on the establishment of polyclinics in the Leicester area;
	(7)  what health care services available in hospitals will be made available at polyclinics;
	(8)  what health care services are available at GP surgeries he proposes to make available at polyclinics.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government do not have a polyclinic policy. Primary care trusts (PCTs) have been asked to commission general practitioner (GP)-led health centres that provide core GP services, that are open from 8 am to 8 pm, 365 days a year and that can be used by anyone either with an appointment or on a walk in basis. Any services provided above and beyond this will be decided locally depending on local needs.
	It is for PCTs to determine the local impact and to ensure maximum benefits for their populations. We have consistently emphasised the need for strong public and clinical engagement in making decisions on the location of these new services and the range of services they provide. However the precise nature and scope of the consultation should be determined locally.
	Collectively PCTs will be allocated 120 million to deliver at least one GP-led heath centre. Costs will vary locally, largely depending on what services the PCT decides to provide above and beyond the core services.
	Leicester PCT is establishing a new GP-led health centre and three new GP practices in its under-served areas. Extensive public consultation is being carried out to determine the location and services that will be delivered. The process is ongoing.

Health Centres: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what polyclinics are planned to be established in  (a) Southend West constituency and  (b) each primary care trust in Essex; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what discussions he  (a) has had and  (b) plans to have with general practitioners in Southend on polyclinics; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government do not have a polyclinic policy. Primary care trusts (PCTs) have been asked to provide at least one general practitioner (GP)-led health centre in their areas that will be open from 8 am to 8 pm, 365 days a year and that can be used by anyone either with an appointment or on a walk in basis.
	It is for PCTs to set out their proposals for these new GP led health centres following consultation with patients, GPs and others, which focus on local needs and preferences. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no current plans to meet GPs in Southend to discuss polyclinics.

Health Centres: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial assistance his Department has made available to primary care trusts in Essex to develop polyclinics; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: A 250 million access fund was secured for the national health service through the comprehensive spending review process to support the delivery of general practitioner (GP)-led health centres in every primary care trust (PCT) and 100 new GP practices in the most poorly served PCTs. 120 million of this is for health centres and will be included in PCT allocations. A weighted capitation formula is used to determine each PCT's target share of available resources to enable them to commission similar levels of health services for populations in similar need. PCT allocations are a general allocation and are not broken down into individually identifiable sums for specific policy areas. PCT allocations for 2009-10 and 2010-11 have not yet been finalised but will be announced in due course.

Health Centres: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what new funding will be made available to support the establishment of a GP-led health centre facility in the Peterborough Primary Care Trust area; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: A 250 million access fund was secured for the national health service through the comprehensive spending review process to support the delivery of general practitioner (GP)-led health centres in every primary care trust (PCTs) and 100 new GP practices in the most poorly served PCTs. Collectively, 120 million of this is for health centres and will be included in PCT allocations. A weighted capitation formula is used to determine each PCT's target share of available resources to enable them to commission similar levels of health services for populations in similar need. PCT allocations are a general allocation and are not broken down into individually identifiable sums for specific policy areas. PCT allocations for 2009-10 and 2010-11 have not yet been finalised but will be announced in due course.

Health Services: Norwich

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will undertake an assessment of the effects on existing health services in Norwich should the proposed GP-led health care centre be established.

Ben Bradshaw: It is for primary care trusts to determine the local impact of the general practitioner-led health centre and to ensure maximum benefits for their populations. We have consistently emphasised the need for strong public and clinical engagement in making decisions on the location of these new services and the range of services they provide. However the precise nature and scope of the consultation should be determined locally.

Hospital Wards

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital wards have  (a) opened and  (b) closed in each constituency in each year since 1997-98.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is not collected centrally. The Department collects data on the number of beds in the national health service. This information is routinely published on the Department's website at:
	www.performance.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity/data_requests/index.htm

Hospitals: Admissions

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many non-attendees there were for  (a) outpatient appointments and  (b) in-patients and day case admissions in NHS hospitals in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of hospital non-attendees for  (a) out-patients and  (b) in-patients and daycare admissions in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: The number of 'did not attend' for out-patient appointments (both first and subsequent) for the year 2007-08 was 5,308,297. The number of 'failed to attend' for in-patient and day case admissions for 2007-08 was 97,022.

Hospitals: Infectious Diseases

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people died in NHS hospitals from infections and viruses acquired in hospital on average each week in  (a) the North West and  (b) the UK in the last 12 months.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not available as death certificates record the place where a person dies but not where any infections may have been acquired. It is not possible from the information on a death certificate to know whether an infection was acquired in the hospital or other place where a patient died. Patients are often transferred between hospitals, nursing/care homes and other establishments and may acquire infections in a different place from where they died.
	The Office for National Statistics publishes analyses of deaths in England and Wales where meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or Clostridium difficile is mentioned on the death certificate but these data do not indicate if the infection was acquired in hospital or elsewhere. The latest year for which figures are available is 2006, the data are published in Health Statistics Quarterly 37, copies of which are available in the Library.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the definitions of the terms  (a) pronucleus and  (b) embryo given by the Minister of State in the Public Bill Committee on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill on 3 June 2008,  Official Report, columns 13 and 24, for what reason those definitions do not follow the definitions set by the Appeal Committee of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

Dawn Primarolo: The definitions set by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's Appeal Committee are based upon an understanding of the scientific difference between the pro-nuclei and a nucleus of an embryonic cell. The Bill sets out to ensure that, for the purposes of legislation, the terms pro-nucleus and nucleus are equivalent, to ensure the provisions regarding the genetic modification of human embryos apply equally to single cell embryos as they do to embryos at a later stage of development.

Leicester General Hospital

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what reports he has received on the process of disposal of the site of the former Leicester General Hospital, with particular reference to the involvement of interested parties.

Ben Bradshaw: The future of the Leicester General Hospital is a matter for University Hospitals Leicester NHS Trust working together with primary care trusts in Leicestershire. Plans for the future of Leicester General Hospital will be subject to full stakeholder engagement and public consultation in due course.

Medical Records: Data Protection

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects sealed envelope software to be available for testing in each of the main established GP systems; and what plans he has to pilot sealed envelope software within established discrete GP databases before being rolled out to databases accessible by multiple providers.

Ben Bradshaw: We expect general practitioner (GP) information technology system suppliers to begin compliance work for sealed envelope software following the next release of the software which is expected before the end of 2008. We are aware that some GP systems suppliers already provide similar functionality in existing products.
	The current intention is that the same implementation approach will be used as with the summary care record, that is through assessment in early adopter sites. Final details have yet to be confirmed.

Medical Records: Data Protection

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether patients are obliged to have their data recorded on the National Care Records Service.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 22 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1990W.

Medical Records: Databases

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has issued on the application of the provisions of section 10 of the Data Protection Act 1998 to  (a) the processing of data on any component of the national care records database and  (b) patient requirements not to record clinical information on databases accessible by users not directly involved in their care.

Ben Bradshaw: Guidance aimed at all general practitioners, entitled Guidance on Managing Requests for no Summary Care Record During the Period of the Early Adopter Programme was issued for distribution via primary care trusts in March 2007. It included the following statement:
	However .... people do have a legal right to have objections to the creation of their Summary Care Record considered, as provided under section 10 of the Data Protection Act 1998 (http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts1998/80029-b.htm#10). As the current Data Controller for general practitioner records, each practice is legally responsible for responding to these objections, which are referred to as section 10 notices.
	Detailed guidance on the application of section 10 of the Data Protection Act 1998 has not been issued by the Department as the Information Commissioner's website provides extremely clear and helpful material relevant to all processing of personal data.

Medical Records: Databases

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether detailed care records will be available from clusters other than those in which they originate.

Ben Bradshaw: In some existing national health service information technology (IT) systems, detailed care records are already available outside the immediate locality. Under the National Programme for IT (NPfIT), detailed care records are potentially available to the other organisations within the technical environment on which that particular IT system has been deployed, typically across local health communities. These are generally referred to as a 'deployment instance' and can be as small as a single organisation or as wide as the NHS defines within the geographic area of a supplier. Access to records is tightly controlled, however, so that only those who are involved in a patient's care may have access to that patient's clinical information and even this access can be prevented by patients who dissent from information sharing.

Medical Records: Databases

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the circumstances in which an opt-out from the summary care record under section 10 of the Data Protection Act 1998 could be overridden; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Requests made by patients under the provisions of section 10 of the Data Protection Act 1998 must be considered on a case by case basis. The Act makes it clear that a section 10 request should only be overridden where the purpose served by processing the data is sufficiently important to warrant doing so even where it is accepted that substantial harm or distress is being caused. We do not expect there to be many, if any, circumstances where this would arise in the case of an individual who is competent to make decisions. However, there may be circumstances, for example, where there are serious child protection concerns, where a doctor might feel that a parent's request to opt a child out of having a summary care record is not in the best interest of a child.

Medical Records: Databases

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from law enforcement organisations on  (a) access to the secondary users database and  (b) provision to law enforcement authorities of the identities of individuals with specific information on their medical records; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Law enforcement organisations are not permitted to directly access data held within the secondary uses service or any other patient information held centrally, and no representations have been received to do so.
	Data are only disclosed to law enforcement organisations in accordance with the Department's publication Confidentiality: NHS Code of Practice (2003), copies of the code are available in the Library. This limits disclosure to circumstances where the overriding public interest outweighs obligations of confidentiality, for example, when immediate action is required to prevent or support detection of extremely serious crimes, where there is statutory authority, or where the courts have made an order requiring disclosure.

Medical Records: Databases

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which categories of staff other than those based at the surgery at which a medical record was created will be able to override a patient's wishes expressed through sealed envelope software.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Rugby and Kenilworth (Jeremy Wright) on 7 January 2008,  Official Report, column 114W.

Medical Records: Databases

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons Connecting for Health obliges patients to sign documents that invoke the provisions of section 10 of the Data Protection Act 1998 before they opt out of the summary care record; and what guidance he has issued on the compatibility of accepting an instruction to opt out of the summary care record with  (a) common law confidentiality provisions and  (b) the fair processing requirements of the Data Protection Act.

Ben Bradshaw: Decisions about whether or not to agree to an individual's request to opt-out of a summary care record rest with individual general practitioner practices. Provided that patients are informed about the summary care record and access to that record is appropriately controlled, the Department believes that the provisions of common law and the fair processing requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 are met in full.
	Where these requirements have been met, section 10 of the Act still applies and provides a framework for considering requests while recognising that there may be circumstances, for example for child protection purposes, where an opt-out request should be turned down.
	The Government believe that the summary care record is an important component of the care that the national health service should provide in the future. It is in the interest of both doctors and their patients to ensure that any opt-out request by a patient, agreed to by the doctor, be clearly documented in the event that future medical or legal consequences should call the matter into question. NHS Connecting for Health has provided general practitioners with a simple pro forma for that purpose.

Medical Records: Databases

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what scenarios his Department has established for the release of identifiable patient information from NHS care records to third parties without the patient's consent; and what the  (a) data source,  (b) destination,  (c) nature of the information,  (d) legal justification,  (e) data controller and  (f) professional role of the individual providing approval in each scenario is.

Ben Bradshaw: The release of identifiable patient information from NHS Care Records must be in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998, common law confidentiality requirements and any other pertinent legislation. These limit the release of information without consent to circumstances where the public interest that would be served by the release of information outweighs an individual's right to confidentiality, or where legislation or the courts require or permit the release. These circumstances are described and explained in more detail in the Department's publication Confidentiality: NHS Code of Practice (November 2003) copies of the Code are available in the Library.

Medical Records: Dorset

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what type of computer system handles patient records in  (a) Dorchester County Hospital and  (b) Bournemouth Hospital.

Ben Bradshaw: Dorset county hospital in Dorchester is managed by Dorset county hospital NHS foundation trust, and the Royal Bournemouth hospital is managed by the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch hospitals NHS foundation trust. The information requested is a matter for these foundation trusts.
	We have written to Robin SeQueira CBE, chair of Dorset county hospital NHS foundation trust, and Sheila Collins, chair of the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch hospitals NHS foundation trust, informing them of the hon. Member's inquiry. Copies of the replies will be placed in the Library.

Migraines

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of migraine treatment in England.

Ann Keen: We have made no recent assessment of the standard of migraine treatment.

Mineral Waters

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many litres of bottled water were purchased by his Department in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: In the last three years the Department purchased:
	
		
			   Litres 
			 2005 45,738 
			 2006 52,861 
			 2007 53,020 
		
	
	The Department is moving to the provision of tap water on its estate from July 2008.

NHS: Databases

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has issued on the classification as sensitive of a patient's name and address when stored in conjunction with a record of  (a) attendance at a health facility and  (b) consultation with a particular clinician; and if he will review the provisions for recording sensitive information in the audit trail of records accessed on the Patient Demographic Service database.

Ben Bradshaw: The Code of Practice, Confidentiality: NHS Code of Practice, published in November 2003, provides guidance on the required practice for those who work within or under contract to national health service organisations. In addition, the specific guidance issued in support of the Personal Demographics Service (PDS) draws attention to this wider guidance and states explicitly that each health care organisation is responsible for ensuring that health care professionals are aware that inappropriate use of the PDS could result in disciplinary proceedings against them.
	Copies of the code are available in the Library, and are also available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/06/92/54/04069254.pdf.
	The code has been endorsed by the Information Commissioner, the General Medical Council, and the British Medical Association.
	The information held within the audit trails associated with the PDS can be sensitive, though clearly not as sensitive as a full clinical record, and the content is covered by the code. Access to audit trail information is restricted to a small number of individuals authorised by their organisations to investigate the use and potential misuse of systems, and to access the minimum information necessary to undertake this work. There is no evidence of abuse of these arrangements but NHS Connecting for Health continues to monitor and review as necessary.

NHS: Expenditure

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding was  (a) allocated to and  (b) spent by the NHS in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is shown in the following table. Audited figures for 2007-08 will be available in the autumn.
	
		
			   million 
			   Revenue funding  Expenditure 
			 2005-06 66,641 71,794 
			 2006-07 70,544 74,026 
			 2007-08 n/a n/a 
			 n/a = Not available.  Sources: Revenue resource limits for strategic health authorities (SHAs) and primary care trusts 2005-06 and 2006-07. Gross expenditure reported in the national health service summarised accounts of SHAs 2005-06 and 2006-07.

NHS: Finance

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of Government funding for the NHS in the next three years.

Ben Bradshaw: Government planned funding for the national health service for the next three years 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 is set in Figure A.l of the Department of Health Departmental Report 2008, copies of this publication are available in the Library.

NHS: Finance

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on the administration of the NHS in each year since 1990.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is shown in the following table. Information on administration is not available prior to 1991-92. The latest year for which information is available is 2006-07.
	
		
			   Administration costs ( million)  As a percentage of total NHS expenditure (Percentage) 
			 1991-92 1,446 5.7 
			 1992-93 1,545 5.5 
			 1993-94 1,605 5.5 
			 1994-95 1,637 5.4 
			 1995-96 1,699 5.3 
			 1996-97 1,786 5.4 
			 1997-98 1,825 5.3 
			 1998-99 1,936 5.3 
			 1999-2000 2,078 5.2 
			 2000-01 2,279 5.2 
			 2001-02 2,597 5.3 
			 2002-03 2,893 5.4 
			 2003-04 3,188 5.0 
			 2004-05 3,412 4.9 
			 2005-06 3,648 4.8 
			 2006-07 3,619 4.5 
			  Note:  Figures for 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07 exclude data for foundation trusts.   Source:  Annual financial returns (unaudited) for primary care trusts, (strategic) health authorities and national health service trusts 1991-92 to 2006-07. NHS total expenditure (England) 1991-92 to 2006-07.

NHS: Finance

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the NHS surplus was for 2007-08; and how much was spent in that year on prepayment of suppliers for services to be provided in years after 2007-08.

Ben Bradshaw: In the draft accounts for the 2007-08 financial year end, the national health service (excluding foundation trusts) is reporting an overall surplus of 1,658 million.
	The Department does not collect centrally information on the prepayment of suppliers and services.
	NHS accounts are prepared in accordance with the United Kingdom generally accepted accounting practice (UK GAAP) framework as required by HM Treasury and set out in guidance for the NHS by the Department. Each NHS organisation's accounts is subject to a full audit to ensure that they are complying with this framework.
	Under UK GAAP rules, a prepayment would not impact on the surplus because expenditure is recorded on an accruals basis. This measures resources as they are consumed rather than when cash is paid. Therefore any prepayments made in 2007-08 would have no impact on the expenditure recorded in the NHS for that financial year, and consequently would not affect the level of surplus.

NHS: ICT

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the sections of the contract with Fujitsu pertaining to the termination of the contract and the termination notice.

Ben Bradshaw: It is not the Department's practice to publish copies of, or extracts from, contracts with suppliers let under the National Programme for IT on the grounds that the contents are covered by the exemptions at sections 41 and 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Section 41 of the Act exempts information where disclosure would constitute an actionable breach of confidence, and section 43(2) where disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person.
	Publication of the termination notice issued to Fujitsu in the context of ongoing negotiations to reach a settlement with the company would put that objective at risk and potentially compromise the Department's position in any possible future litigation. Either outcome would or would be likely to cause prejudice to the commercial interests of the Department, and in turn the taxpayer, and for that reason we believe its disclosure is similarly covered by section 43(2) of the Act.

NHS: ICT

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes to the contracts for the NHS IT programme will be required to reflect the extension to the completion time for the programme.

Ben Bradshaw: The completion time described in the most recent report of the Comptroller and Auditor General's review of the National Programme for IT is covered, with the exception of the Fujitsu contract, within existing contractual arrangements. The contracts provide mechanisms to cater for any further changes in the delivery timetable via an agreed change control process.

NHS: ICT

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to issue termination notices under the NHS IT contract to  (a) CSC and  (b) BT.

Ben Bradshaw: There are currently no such plans.

NHS: ICT

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason a termination notice was not issued to Accenture in relation to its work on the NHS IT contract.

Ben Bradshaw: In 2006, Accenture made arrangements to voluntarily novate the company's contract to another existing supplier under the NHS National Programme for IT. In the circumstances prevailing at the time, this was considered to best serve the public's interest in ensuring momentum and continuity in delivery of systems and services and also delivering value for money.

NHS: Manpower

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) medical and  (b) administrative staff were employed by the NHS in each year since 2000.

Ann Keen: The number of medical and administrative staff that were employed in the national health service in each year since 2000 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  NHS hospital and community health services and general practice (GP) work force (excluding GP retainers( 1) ) in England as at 30 September each specified year 
			  Headcount 
			   2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006( 2)  2007 
			 Total employed staff(1) 1,117,841 1,166,016 1,223,824 1,282,930 1,331,087 1,365,388 1,338,140 1,330,544 
			  
			 Professionally qualified clinical staff 552,936 574,646 603,077 633,375 660,706 679,157 674,621 681,246 
			  Of which: 
			 All doctors(1) 96,319 99,169 103,350 108,993 117,036 122,345 125,612 127,645 
			 Consultants (including directors of public health) 24,401 25,782 27,070 28,750 30,650 31,993 32,874 33,674 
			 Registrars 12,730 13,220 13,770 14,619 16,823 18,006 18,808 30,759 
			 Other doctors in training 19,192 19,572 21,145 22,701 24,874 26,305 27,461 16,024 
			 Other medical and dental staff 9,744 9,910 10,183 10,330 10,604 10,739 11,100 11,333 
			 GPs(1) including registrars 30,252 30,685 31,182 32,593 34,085 35,302 35,369 35,855 
			  
			 Total clerical and administrative staff(3) 199,603 211,653 227,303 245,273 260,857 272,565 261,053 256,686 
			  Of which: 
			 Central functions 96,872 102,348 110,481 119,730 129,249 136,513 130,559 128,620 
			 Hotel, property and estates 10,301 10,494 10,424 10,823 10,827 10,762 9,099 8,818 
			 Scienific therapeutic and technical STT support 13,472 13,880 15,332 16,548 17,356 16,587 15,282 14,391 
			 Clerical support 75,677 81,496 87,738 94,702 99,845 105,004 102,486 101,125 
			 Ambulance service support 3,281 3,435 3,328 3,470 3,580 3,699 3,627 3,732 
			  
			 Other GP practice staff(4) 83,070 84,473 86,292 88,424 90,110 89,190 95,845 94,515 
			 (1) Figures exclude GP retainers. (2) Enhanced validation processes have led to the removal of duplicate records from the non-medical census (from 2006 onwards). Although percentages were small (less than 1 per cent.), comparisons with years prior to this need to be treated with caution. This only effects headcount. (3) Examples of staff in central functions are staff in human resources, informatics, payroll, and library staff. Examples of staff in hotel, property and estates are clerical laundry staff, domestic services and home wardens. Examples of staff in STT support are clerical staff in audiology, haematology, dietetics and microbiology. Ambulance service support staff are ambulance controllers, training staff and ambulance officers. (4) Other practice staff, there is no breakdown of type of work for headcount data. However type of work is available for full-time equivalent practice staff and the majority (over 80 per cent. in 2007) were administrative and clerical staff.  Notes: 1. Nursing and midwifery figures exclude students on training courses leading to a first qualification as a nurse or midwife. Includes GP practice nurses. 2. In 2006, ambulance staff were collected under new, more detailed, occupation codes. As a result, qualified totals and support to ambulance staff totals are not directly comparable with previous years.  Source: Information centre for health and social care.

NHS: Pay

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on NHS administrative staff in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08; and how much is forecast to be spent in 2008-09, broken down by primary care trust.

Ben Bradshaw: Information for 2006-07 is provided in the following table. Information for 2007-08 will not be available until autumn 2008. As the Department does not collect data relating to expenditure on administrative staff until after the end of the financial year, no information can yet be provided for 2008-09.
	
		
			  Primary Care Trust (PCT) Name  Administrative staff (000) 
			 Ashton, Leigh and Wigan PCT 6,761 
			 Barking and Dagenham PCT 3,911 
			 Barnet PCT 7,625 
			 Barnsley PCT 8,907 
			 Bassetlaw PCT 1,119 
			 Bath and North East Somerset PCT 5,519 
			 Bedfordshire PCT 4,662 
			 Berkshire East PCT 4,380 
			 Berkshire West PCT 6,719 
			 Bexley Care PCT 3,903 
			 Birmingham East and North PCT 7,859 
			 Blackburn with Darwen PCT 4,346 
			 Blackpool PCT 3,791 
			 Bolton PCT 6,427 
			 Bournemouth and Poole PCT 3,425 
			 Bradford and Airedale PCT 12,191 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 10,117 
			 Brighton and Hove City PCT 1,581 
			 Bristol PCT 8,776 
			 Bromley PCT 5,477 
			 Buckinghamshire PCT 8,120 
			 Bury PCT 3,837 
			 Calderdale PCT 3,656 
			 Cambridgeshire PCT 9,835 
			 Camden PCT 11,953 
			 Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT 10,367 
			 Central Lancashire PCT 13,717 
			 City and Hackney Teaching PCT 9,014 
			 Cornwall And Isles Of Scilly PCT 5,602 
			 County Durham PCT 9,640 
			 Coventry Teaching PCT 11,355 
			 Croydon PCT 6,388 
			 Cumbria PCT 9,414 
			 Darlington PCT 1,125 
			 Derby City PCT 9,696 
			 Derbyshire County PCT 11,374 
			 Devon PCT 11,737 
			 Doncaster PCT 6,887 
			 Dorset PCT 9,484 
			 Dudley PCT 8,353 
			 Ealing PCT 13,480 
			 East and North Hertfordshire PCT 6,705 
			 East Lancashire PCT 9,334 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire PCT 2,376 
			 East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT 7,482 
			 Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 11,744 
			 Enfield PCT 8,742 
			 Gateshead PCT 3,218 
			 Gloucestershire PCT 8,798 
			 Great Yarmouth And Waveney PCT 1,892 
			 Greenwich Teaching PCT 5,091 
			 Halton and St. Helens PCT 8,168 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 4,276 
			 Hampshire PCT 15,968 
			 Haringey Teaching PCT 5,030 
			 Harrow PCT 2,626 
			 Hartlepool PCT 2,017 
			 Hastings and Rother PCT 2,339 
			 Havering PCT 6,393 
			 Heart of Birmingham Teaching PCT 9,575 
			 Herefordshire PCT 10,382 
			 Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale PCT 5,438 
			 Hillingdon PCT 4,115 
			 Hounslow PCT 3,364 
			 Hull PCT 9,728 
			 Isle of Wight NHS PCT 8,490 
			 Islington PCT 5,572 
			 Kensington and Chelsea PCT 5,023 
			 Kingston PCT 2,816 
			 Kirklees PCT 4,544 
			 Knowsley PCT 4,559 
			 Lambeth PCT 6,184 
			 Leeds PCT 16,829 
			 Leicester City PCT 4,884 
			 Leicestershire County and Rutland PCT 9,219 
			 Lewisham PCT 17,147 
			 Lincolnshire PCT 8,448 
			 Liverpool PCT 26,691 
			 Luton PCT 3,624 
			 Manchester PCT 17,915 
			 Medway PCT 4,021 
			 Mid Essex PCT 4,380 
			 Middlesbrough PCT 3,838 
			 Milton Keynes PCT 4,756 
			 Newcastle PCT 6,096 
			 Newham PCT 7,137 
			 Norfolk PCT 16,842 
			 North East Essex PCT 8,154 
			 North East Lincolnshire PCT 3,330 
			 North Lancashire PCT 7,441 
			 North Lincolnshire PCT 2,490 
			 North Somerset PCT 1,547 
			 North Staffordshire PCT 2,080 
			 North Tees PCT 2,902 
			 North Tyneside PCT 2,615 
			 North Yorkshire And York PCT 10,427 
			 Northamptonshire PCT 7,582 
			 Northumberland Care PCT 4,896 
			 Nottingham City PCT 7,142 
			 Nottinghamshire County PCT 14,210 
			 Oldham PCT 7,741 
			 Oxfordshire PCT 5,386 
			 Peterborough PCT 6,884 
			 Plymouth Teaching PCT 6,492 
			 Portsmouth City Teaching PCT 8,110 
			 Redbridge PCT 3,882 
			 Redcar and Cleveland PCT 2,112 
			 Richmond and Twickenham PCT 3,210 
			 Rotherham PCT 8,449 
			 Salford PCT 8,583 
			 Sandwell PCT 5,647 
			 Sefton PCT 4,949 
			 Sheffield PCT 8,197 
			 Shropshire County PCT 6,030 
			 Solihull Care PCT 3,112 
			 Somerset PCT 6,466 
			 South Birmingham PCT 12,860 
			 South East Essex PCT 4,018 
			 South Gloucestershire PCT 2,372 
			 South Staffordshire PCT 6,933 
			 South Tyneside PCT 3,182 
			 South West Essex PCT 6,615 
			 Southampton City PCT 8,536 
			 Southwark PCT 6,794 
			 Stockport PCT 4,611 
			 Stoke on Trent PCT 7,132 
			 Suffolk PCT 5,288 
			 Sunderland Teaching PCT 7,256 
			 Surrey PCT 15,982 
			 Sutton and Merton PCT 6,320 
			 Swindon PCT 3,157 
			 Tameside and Glossop PCT 6,564 
			 Telford and Wrekin PCT 4,193 
			 Torbay Care PCT 4,527 
			 Tower Hamlets PCT 9,803 
			 Trafford PCT 3,571 
			 Wakefield District PCT 5,733 
			 Walsall Teaching PCT 9,235 
			 Waltham Forest PCT 7,966 
			 Wandsworth PCT 6,912 
			 Warrington PCT 5,654 
			 Warwickshire PCT 14,092 
			 West Essex PCT 3,248 
			 West Hertfordshire PCT 6,624 
			 West Kent PCT 14,090 
			 West Sussex PCT 17,055 
			 Western Cheshire PCT 4,849 
			 Westminster PCT 7,655 
			 Wiltshire PCT 7,592 
			 Wirral PCT 5,123 
			 Wolverhampton City PCT 9,632 
			 Worcestershire PCT 6,642 
			 England 1,078,228 
			  Source:  Annual PCT financial returns for 2006-07

Pressure Sores

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in how many and what proportion of recorded admissions in each NHS acute trust an assessment for pressure ulcers was undertaken in each of the last three years for which information is available; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Information on the proportion of recorded admissions where an assessment for pressure ulcers was undertaken is not collected centrally.

Radiotherapy: Waiting Lists

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time is for radiotherapy treatment in Havering Primary Care Trust.

Ann Keen: Information about average waiting times for different types of cancer treatment, including radiotherapy, is not collected centrally. Cancer waiting times standards were introduced for all cancer patients from December 2005. They are a maximum wait of 31 days from diagnosis to first cancer treatment and a maximum wait of 62 days from urgent referral for suspected cancer to first cancer treatment. In the last quarter (January to March 2008), performance against these standards in England was 99.5 per cent. and 96.8 per cent. respectively.

Waiting Lists: Devon

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in North Devon are waiting for treatment; and how many there were in each month since January 2003.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Information for former North Devon Primary Care Trust (PCT) and current Devon PCTpatients waiting for treatment at the end of the month 
			   North Devon PCT  Devon PCT 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2006  2007 
			 January 3,443 3,302 2,654 2,646 n/a 10,874 
			 February 3,395 3,321 2,627 2,653 n/a 10,395 
			 March 3,332 3,163 2,617 2,687 n/a 10,000 
			 April 3,272 3,258 2,754 2,697 n/a 10,034 
			 May 3,277 3,281 2,572 2,704 n/a 10,317 
			 June 3,292 3,253 2,495 2,706 n/a 10,334 
			 July 3,205 3,152 2,533 2,687 n/a 10,291 
			 August 3,193 3,014 2,508 2,830 n/a 10,245 
			 September 3,228 2,954 2,419 2,818 n/a 10,122 
			 October 3,357 2,806 2,460 n/a 11,389 9,614 
			 November 3,418 2,836 2,621 n/a 11,116 9,379 
			 December 3,393 2,654 2,623 n/a 11,340 n/a 
			 n/a = Not available.  Note:  On 1 October 2006, Devon PCT was formed from a merger of six previous PCTsEast Devon PCT, Exeter PCT, Mid-Devon PCT, North Devon PCT, South Hams and West Devon PCT, and Teinbridge PCT. This explains the increase in figures from October 2006 onward. Figures for November 2007 are the latest figures available.  Source:  QFOl, Monthly Monitoring (Commissioner).

Abortion: Young People

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will undertake research to evaluate whether the Government's target to reduce the number of teenage mothers has had an effect on the number of teenagers having abortions.

Beverley Hughes: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government's target is to reduce the rate of teenage conceptions, not the rate of teenage motherhood. Once a conception has occurred, the Government do not attempt to influence the outcome of that conception, but rather to ensure that all the advice and support necessary is available.
	The first priority of the teenage pregnancy strategy is to encourage all young people to delay sexual activity. However, it recognises that between a quarter and a third of young people have sex before age 16. That is why the strategy also includes measures to improve sexually active young people's access to contraceptive and sexual health advice, so that they can avoid unplanned pregnancies and STIs.
	The strategy is working. Between 1998 (the baseline year for the teenage pregnancy strategy) and 2006 (the latest year for which data are available) the under-18 conception rate has fallen by 13.3 per cent to its lowest level for over 20 years. The under-16 rate has fallen by 13.0 per cent. over the same period.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Departmental Buildings

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how frequently his Department restates the asset values of its building estate.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) estate is valued for accounting purposes twice a year by FCO chartered surveyors. In line with international accounting standards, external chartered surveyors value the estate over a three year rolling programme.

Diplomatic Service: Crime

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many notifiable offences were committed by British diplomats based abroad in 2007, broken down by  (a) offence and  (b) country; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: We are not aware of any notifiable offences committed by our diplomats based abroad in 2007. One former diplomat is currently under investigation by the police regarding a possible offence committed while overseas in 2007. We cannot comment further while that investigation is ongoing.

European External Action Service

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the transfer of  (a) relevant European Commission departments and  (b) the General Secretariat of the Council to the European External Action Service; when the policy was first determined; when the UK's position was first communicated to (i) other EU member states and (ii) the European Commission, and in what forum; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: holding answer 13 June 2008
	In light of the Irish referendum result, discussions on the External Action Service at the EU General Affairs Council and the European Council were cancelled. That was the right response to the referendum in Ireland. No further work will be carried out, and the work has stopped in the UK, until such time as there is a new suggestion from the French presidency or a way forward suggested by the Irish Government.

European External Action Service

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what agreements were reached at the meetings of the Committee of Permanent Representatives on  (a) 7 May and  (b) 13 May 2008 on the European External Action Service, with particular reference to (i) the composition of the Service and (ii) the transfer of officials from (A) European Commission directorates-general and (B) the General Secretariat of the Council; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: holding answer 13 June 2008
	No agreements have been reached on the composition of the European External Action Service or the transfer of Commission and Council Secretariat officials to the Service.
	In light of the Irish referendum result, discussions on the External Action Service at the EU General Affairs Council and the European Council were cancelled. No further work will be carried out and the work has stopped in the UK until such time as there is a new suggestion from the French presidency or a way forward suggested by the Irish Government.

European External Action Service

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what position was taken by the UK in the COREPER meetings on  (a) 7 May and  (b) 13 May 2008 on proposals made by the French government on the transfer of relevant (i) European Commission directorates and (ii) bodies of the General Secretariat of the Council to the European External Action Service; who represented the UK at each meeting; what conditions were attached to the UK's position on the proposals; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: holding answer 23 June 2008
	No agreements have been reached on the composition of the European External Action Service (EEAS) or the transfer of Commission and Council Secretariat officials, bodies or departments to the Service. In light of the Irish referendum result, discussions on the EEAS at the General Affairs Council and the European Council were cancelled. The work has stopped in the UK until such time as there is a new suggestion from the French presidency or a way forward suggested by the Irish Government. The UK Permanent Representative to the EU represents the UK in the Permanent Representatives Committee.

Heads of Government Summit

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what transport provision was made available for use by attendees of the Heads of Government Summit held on 5 April.

Meg Munn: No transport provision was made by the Government for any Heads of State or government attending the summit, with the exceptions of the Prime Minister of Australia and the President of Chile who were following separate Guest of Government programmes.
	Shuttle buses for delegates and media to access the venue from either the security check point or media accreditation site were provided. Transport to the venue for Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff supporting the logistics of the event was also provided.

Iran: Export Credit Guarantees

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it is UK policy to secure the multilateral withdrawal of export credit provision to Iran by European Union countries.

David Miliband: United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1803, adopted on 3 March 2008, calls upon all States to exercise vigilance in entering into new commitments for public provided financial support for trade with Iran, including the granting of export credits. The first step will be a new EU Common Position implementing the provisions of UNSCR 1803, including those on export credits. I will inform the House when this has been adopted. We are also discussing with EU partners the scope for further action in this area. The UK's Export Credit Guarantee Department has stopped processing applications for new export credit cover to Iran.

Iran: Sanctions

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 6 June 2008,  Official Report, column 1197W, on Iran: sanctions, what UK policy is on  (a) monitoring the activities of Iranian financial institutions and  (b) a European ban on the operations of Iranian banks Melli and Meillat; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The UK has implemented the provisions in previous UN Security Council resolutions that relate to named Iranian banks. HM Treasury and the Financial Services Authority monitor the activities of these and other Iranian institutions closely. Building on UN Security Council Resolution 1803, which was adopted in March, we are pressing for a new Common Position to implement it at EU level, including the provision on increased vigilance over the activities of Iranian financial institutions, including Banks Melli and Meillat. On 23 June the EU listed more Iranian entities, including Bank Melli, which imposed an EU-wide freeze of their funds and other financial assets.

Moldova: Visas

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visitor visas were granted to citizens of Moldova in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 20 June 2008
	I have been asked to reply.
	The number of visit visas issued to Moldovan nationals in each of the last three years is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2005 1,282 
			 2006 1,476 
			 2007 292 
			  Note : Date range: 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2007.  Source: Central Reference System 
		
	
	These data are previously unpublished and should be strictly treated as provisional.

Mujahedin-e Khalq

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received  (a) directly and  (b) through the British embassy in Tehran on the de-proscription of the People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The deproscription of the People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran is an issue of great concern to the Iranian authorities. The Iranian authorities have raised this issue with our embassy in Tehran and with officials in London on a number of occasions. In response we have explained that the appeals process is a judicial and not a political matter.

Somalia: Human Rights

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to investigate allegations of human rights abuses in Somalia; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: We continue to monitor the situation in Somalia and take all allegations of human rights abuses extremely seriously. We recently supported UN Security Council Resolution 1814, adopted on 15 May, endorsing a new UN approach by integrating the UN's political, security and stabilisation efforts and strengthening the presence of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Somalia.

Sudan: Peace Negotiations

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what mechanisms exist under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan to investigate violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) established the National Constitutional Review Commission (NCRC) which was mandated to set up the Human Rights Commission. The NCRC has drafted the necessary legislation but this has not yet been passed. In the South, a Southern Sudan Human Rights Commission was set up in June 2006. The Interim National Constitution, adopted in 2005 under the CPA, includes a Bill of Rights that enshrines the principle of human rights at all levels of government and society.

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what sanctions the Government plan to seek with the goal of accelerating the deployment of the UN/African Union Hybrid Mission in Darfur and promoting the peace process, as referred to in the 2008 EU-US Summit declaration.

David Miliband: The UK will consider all available options including the use of UN or EU targeted sanctions if appropriate, to secure the effective deployment of the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur and promote a peaceful resolution to the situation in Darfur. Further sanctions could include: an assets freeze and travel ban against individuals engaged in violence; the extension of existing UN arms embargo to cover the whole of Sudan; and measures to improve monitoring of the illegal use of aircraft in Darfur. If the Government of Sudan and rebel groups still fail to co-operate, tougher measures may be necessary in future. We continue to discuss actively with Security Council and other partners how to expedite progress on both issues.

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is on proposals to impose targeted sanctions on Sudanese officials who obstruct the deployment of the UN-AU hybrid force in Darfur.

David Miliband: We are working closely with the UN Security Council and other partners to ensure the effective deployment of the UN-African Union joint peacekeeping mission in Darfur. If appropriate this could include the use of targeted UN or EU sanctions such as an asset freeze and travel ban on named individuals. These questions remain under active consideration with Security Council partners, but have not so far secured consensus in the Council.

Sudan: War Crimes

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 17 June 2008 to the hon. Member for South Sunderland,  Official Report, column 815W on Sudan: war crimes, what criteria would have to be met to trigger further sanctions against Sudan for non-co-operation with the International Criminal Court.

David Miliband: The Government continue to work with the international community to ensure there is no impunity for the perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. This includes considering the use of targeted UN and EU sanctions where appropriate as part of a wider political strategy. The Government will continue to assess developments in the International Criminal Court process, including the level of Sudan's cooperation with the Court, and consider further measures as appropriate.

Terrorism: International Cooperation

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government plan to take to reach international agreement on a comprehensive convention on international terrorism; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: Negotiations on a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism have been taking place since 2000 with the active support and involvement of the UK. We have made the case throughout for a clear text consistent with the 13 existing sectoral counter-terrorism conventions as well as with international humanitarian law. A comprehensive convention could contribute to a more unified global response to terrorism and we will work closely with our European allies and other international partners to try to reach agreement in the next round of negotiations this autumn.

Tibet: Press Freedom

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on access for foreign journalists to Tibet; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: Foreign journalists, along with all other foreigners, are normally only able to travel to Tibet after acquiring a time-limited entry permit from the Chinese authorities. The Chinese authorities are not currently granting such permits. We continue to urge the Chinese authorities to allow free media access to Tibet, not just the restricted access we saw on 21 June. My noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, Lord Malloch-Brown, raised the issue of media access with Chinese Vice Minister Wang Yi when he visited China on 14 April.

Zimbabwe: Diplomatic Service

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether there have been any incidents of intimidation or aggression towards British diplomats in Zimbabwe since 5 June 2008; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: There have been no incidents of aggression or intimidation towards our diplomats since 5 June. However, in the course of performing their legitimate diplomatic activities, vehicles have been stopped and officials questioned about the nature of their business before being allowed to continue.

Zimbabwe: Elections

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution his Department is making to the monitoring of the forthcoming elections in Zimbabwe; and what organisations his Department is working with on such election monitoring.

David Miliband: Our diplomats accredited to Zimbabwe applied to the Electoral Commission to observe the second round of elections and visited polling stations on 27 June. Accreditation for election observation in Zimbabwe was severely restricted with local election observers numbering only hundreds, instead of the tens of thousands accredited for the first round.

Zimbabwe: Human Rights

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to secure the sending of a UN team to Zimbabwe to monitor human rights and to deter further human rights abuses; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: A UN envoy, Assistant Secretary General Haile Menkerios, was in Zimbabwe to hold a series of meetings with the Zimbabwean Government and others on the current political and humanitarian crisis. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has also urged the UN Secretary-General to send a Human Rights envoy to Zimbabwe to press for the immediate cessation of the appalling abuses taking place there.

JUSTICE

Administration of Justice: Environment

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he has taken to ensure UK compliance with the provisions of Article 9 on access to justice of the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	The UK is fully supportive of the goals of the Aarhus Convention. The UK National Implementation report sets out the necessary legislative, regulatory or other measures that the UK has taken to implement the provisions of the Aarhus Convention. A copy of the report can be found on the Aarhus Convention webpage of the Defra website.

Cambridge University

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on what date, and for how many minutes  (a) the Universities Committee of the Privy Council and  (b) any other committee of the Privy Council considered the amendments to the statutes of the University of Cambridge that he laid before the House on 10 June 2008.

Michael Wills: I am answering on behalf of my right hon. Friend Baroness Ashton of Upholland, Lord President of the Council, with whom policy responsibility lies.
	Statute amendments submitted by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and by their colleges, under the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge Act 1923, are firstly published in the London Gazette, inviting petitions against within eight weeks. If no petitions are received, the amendments are then laid before Parliament for four weeks. If there are no prayers made against, the amendments are then submitted to the Queen in Council for approval, following a recommendation by the Privy Council. Concurrently with the statutory procedure, the amendments are referred to the individual members of an ad hoc committee of the Privy Council for consideration and report.
	In the instance of those amendments laid before Parliament on 10 June 2008, as no petitions were made against the amendments, following publication in the London Gazette on 11 April 2008, there was no requirement to refer them to the Universities Committee of the Privy Council. The amendments were referred to an ad hoc committee of the Privy Council on 27 March 2008: not all responses have been received to date.

Departmental Consultants

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on consultancy fees in 2007-08.

Maria Eagle: My Department's expenditure with consultants in the financial year 2007-08 was 27 million. This is based upon provisional outturn figures and is therefore subject to change following audit.

Departmental Home Working

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff in his Department are authorised to work from home.

Michael Wills: The Ministry of Justice offers flexible working arrangements to the majority of our employees. Under these arrangements, the ability to work from home is one option that is available to most grades on both a formal and an ad hoc basis. There is no requirement to maintain records of arrangements centrally. This information could therefore be collated only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pay

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the average pay per hour worked by  (a) permanent and  (b) temporary staff in his Department in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by pay band.

Michael Wills: The following data relate to permanent staff and staff on temporary contracts directly employed by the Ministry of Justice. The average hourly rate is based on a average full-time equivalent salary for each of the main grades as at 31 May 2008.
	Staff employed by the Ministry of Justice below the SCS are attached to one of six grades called pay bands (bands A-F). The minimum and maximum of each pay band is further determined by location under our regional pay system. Inner London is in range 1, outer London is in range 2. Other locations across the UK are based in either range 3, 4 or 5.
	The following figures are calculated on basic pay only. They do not include any allowances. NET hours have been used in the calculations.
	We are unable to provide average salaries paid to staff employed through employment agencies. Salary paid to the individual is determined between the Temporary Staffing Agency and the individual. The Ministry does not monitor average salaries paid to such individuals centrally.
	
		
			  Band  Range  Average hourly salary () 
			 Band A Range 1 26.68 
			  Range 2 25.25 
			  Range 3 23.75 
			  Range 4 23.75 
			  Range 5 23.75 
			 Band B Range 1 18.08 
			  Range 2 19.32 
			  Range 3 16.31 
			  Range 4 16.31 
			  Range 5 16.31 
			 Band C Range 1 15.14 
			  Range 2 14.71 
			  Range 3 13.50 
			  Range 4 13.03 
			  Range 5 11.96 
			 Band D Range 1 12.17 
			  Range 2 11.69 
			  Range 3 10.41 
			  Range 4 11.19 
			  Range 5 9.70 
			 Band E Range 1 10.17 
			  Range 2 9.69 
			  Range 3 8.44 
			  Range 4 8.24 
			  Range 5 7.35 
			 Band F Range 1 9.05 
			  Range 2 8.31 
			  Range 3 7.36 
			  Range 4 7.20 
			  Range 5 6.23 
		
	
	Senior civil servants are required to work a minimum (over a five-day week) of 41 hours in London or 42 hours elsewhere and are required to work such additional hours as may be reasonable and necessary for the efficient performance of their duties. This is reflected in their contracts.
	 HM Prison Service
	The following figures are calculated on basic pay only. They do not include any allowances or local pay additions. NET hours have been used in the calculations. HMPS pay awards are payable from 1 April annually. These figures do not reflect the 2008 pay award which has not yet been implemented.
	
		
			   
			  Non-phase 1 staff  Average hourly rate () 
			 Admin Assistant 6.74 
			 Admin Officer 8.26 
			 Catering Manager 12.15 
			 Chaplain Cond Hrs Pay Band 1 13.42 
			 Chaplain Cond Hrs Pay Band 2 12.40 
			 Chaplain CRHA Pay Band 1 14.24 
			 Chaplain CRHA Pay Band 2 11.58 
			 Substance Misuse Worker 10.11 
			 Executive Officer 11.57 
			 Farm Manager 12.98 
			 Instructional Officer 11.62 
			 Medical Officer 31.44 
			 Part-time Medical Officer 27.56 
			 Personal Secretary 9.65 
			 Prof and Tech Officer 12.23 
			 Psychological Assistant 7.64 
			 Scientific Officer 13.27 
			 Senior Medical Officer 36.60 
			 Senior Personal Sec 12.05 
			 SGB 1 7.81 
			 SGB 2 7.01 
			 SGB 2 Cleaner 6.60 
			 Stores Officer C 11.15 
			 Stores Officer D 10.43 
			 Technical Grade 1 10.17 
			 Trainee Psychologist 9.29 
			 Typing Manager 11.43 
			 Typist 7.58 
			   
			  Industrial staff  
			 Industrial Grade 1 Pattern A 10.08 
			 Industrial Grade 1 Pattern B 11.62 
			 Industrial Grade 1 Pattern C 13.39 
			 Industrial Grade 2 Pattern A 9.48 
			 Industrial Grade 2 Pattern B 10.85 
			 Industrial Grade 2 Pattern C 12.49 
			 Industrial Grade 3 Pattern A 8.70 
			 Industrial Grade 3 Pattern B 9.95 
			 Industrial Grade 3 Pattern C 11.41 
			 Industrial Grade 4 Pattern A 7.76 
			 Industrial Grade 4 Pattern B 8.83 
			 Industrial Grade 4 Pattern C 10.26 
			 Industrial Grade 5 Pattern A 7.36 
			 Industrial Grade 5 Pattern B 8.39 
			 Industrial Grade 5 Pattern C 9.75 
			   
			  Phase 1 staff  
			 Senior Manager A 38.95 
			 Senior Manager B 35.13 
			 Senior Manager C 31.28 
			 Senior Manager D 26.69 
			 Manager E 20.17 
			 Manager F 16.24 
			 Manager G 13.88 
			   
			  Unified staff  
			 Assistant Storeman 7.33 
			 Auxiliary 6.65 
			 Night Patrol 6.27 
			 OSG 8.13 
			 Principal Officer 15.94 
			 Prison Officer 12.39 
			 Senior Officer 14.82 
			 Storeman 7.91 
		
	
	It has not been possible to obtain data on the average salaries paid to staff employed by employment agencies contracted to the Ministry of Justice within the time scales or costs available.

Food

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much food waste his Department generated in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how much food waste in tonnes his Department generated in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice takes its commitment for effective waste management seriously and is currently implementing a waste management strategy across its estate. Food waste data for the past five years do not exist as the previous waste management system did not record food waste generated separately from general waste.
	However, with the overall aim of providing an effective solution to sites with food waste disposal issues, HM Prisons Service (HMPS) has conducted two surveys into waste food at public sector managed prisons. The first survey was initiated in May 2006 and concluded in February 2007. A survey of this nature had not been conducted before and therefore prisons did experience problems in collating data. The second survey was conducted in December 2007 and concluded in January 2008.
	The information has primarily been used to identify sites that experienced disposal issues and, consequently, as the foundation for the business case to introduce a sustainable methodology for dealing with this waste stream.
	
		
			  Results of food waste surveys 
			   2006  2007 
			 Prisons responding to survey 32 51 
			 Operational capacity 17,416 30,121 
			 Average weekly food waste per prisoner (based on responses) (kilograms) 1.45 1.34 
			 Average prison population for year 79,000 80,000 
			 Weekly waste across prison estate (extrapolated) 115 107 
			 Annual waste across prison estate (extrapolated) 5,957 5,574 
		
	
	The Prison Service has turned waste into a resource and revenue stream by sorting and selling paper, cardboard, metals and plastics; by reducing the costs of skips for unsorted waste and the costs of waste to landfill; re-using reclaimed items such as clothing; turning food waste into commercial grade compost; and converting used cooking oil into bio diesel for heating and some vehicles. The value of these cashable and efficiency savings are in excess of 3.5 million a year.

Information Commissioner

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 9 June 2008,  Official Report, column 98W, on the Information Commissioner, what the longest period is that a case has been awaiting  (a) investigation and  (b) classification since the establishment of the Information Commissioner's Office.

Michael Wills: In the last financial year, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) took 182 days on average to close freedom of information cases from the date of receipt, and 45 days on average to close data protection cases from the date of receipt. Over 50 per cent. of both freedom of information and data protection cases were closed within 30 days of receipt.
	The ICO does not hold historical information about the time taken to classify and allocate casework. Its historical reporting focuses on the time taken to resolve casework. However, it is able to provide this information for its current case load.
	Currently, the oldest freedom of information case awaiting allocation to a complaints officer is 579 days old. There are four cases, received prior to January 2007 (i.e. over 535 days old), awaiting allocation.
	The oldest freedom of information case currently awaiting classification is 23 days old.
	Currently, the oldest data protection case awaiting allocation to a complaints officer is 149 days old. There are no cases prior to January 2008 awaiting allocation.
	The oldest data protection case currently awaiting classification is 58 days old. Over 50 per cent. of all data protection casework is resolved at this classification stage.

Prisons: Telephones

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make it his policy to harmonise the cost of telephone calls made from within prisons with comparable tariffs outside prison.

Maria Eagle: There are currently no plans to harmonise the cost of calls from prison with tariffs in the community. The prison pinphone system is a specific product to ensure safe and secure use of telephones by prisoners. Prices are not currently linked to public rates. The current contract is in place until 2011 and a re-tendering project will commence this year. However, we are implementing reductions for some international calls following negotiation with the provider.

Prisons: Video Games

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many computer game consoles are available for use by prisoners in prisons in England and Wales; and how much it costs to provide them.

Jack Straw: This information has taken longer than expected to gather and I will write to the hon. Member as soon as it is available.

Probation: Manpower

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people are employed in the Probation Service in  (a) Rhyl and  (b) Colwyn Bay, broken down by grade.

David Hanson: Information on the number of staff employed in the probation service in Colwyn Bay is shown as follows. The figures are full-time equivalent broken down by grade as at 31 May 2008. The Rhyl Probation Office closed in 2006 and all staff relocated to Colwyn Bay.
	
		
			  Colwyn Bay  Total 
			 Deputy Chief Officer 0.00 
			 Assistant Chief Officer 3.00 
			 Area/District Manager 7.00 
			 Probation Officer 27.93 
			 Trainee Probation Officer 7.00 
			 Probation Services Officer 13.81 
			 Psychologist 0.00 
			 Other Operational Staff 5.00 
			 Support StaffAdministration 27.96 
			 Support StaffOther 0.00 
			 Other Staff 0.00 
			 Total 91.70

Protection from Harassment Act 1997

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were  (a) charged,  (b) prosecuted and  (c) convicted for offences under section 2 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 in each of the last 10 years.

Maria Eagle: The number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under Section 2 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 in England and Wales for the years 1997 to 2006 can be viewed in the following table. Section 2 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 came into force on 16 June 1997.
	Charging data are not held by the Ministry of Justice. Information on numbers proceeded against has been provided in lieu of charging data.
	These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	Court proceedings data for 2007 will be available in the autumn of 2008.
	
		
			  The number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under Section 2 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, England and Wales, 1997 to 2006( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) 
			   Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			 1997 507 249 
			 1998 4,301 2,222 
			 1999 5,540 2,753 
			 2000 5,976 2,929 
			 2001 5,873 2,806 
			 2002 5,842 2,864 
			 2003 5,891 3,020 
			 2004 5,973 3,348 
			 2005 5,678 3,635 
			 2006 5,446 3,768 
			 (1) Data are on the principal offence basis. (2 )Data include the following statutes and corresponding offence descriptions:  Protection from Harassment Act 1997 Sec.2 as amended by Crime  Disorder Act 1998 Sec.32(l)(a),(3).  Racially Aggravated Offence of Harassment.  Religiously aggravated offence of harassment.  Racially or religiously aggravated offence of harassment.  Protection from Harassment Act 1997 Sec.2. Offence of Harassment. (3 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4 )Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. (5 )Section 2 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 came into force on 16 June 1997.  Source:  Court proceedings data held by RDSOffice for Criminal Justice ReformMinistry of Justice.

Protection from Harassment Act 1997

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many restraining orders were issued by courts following a conviction under section 2 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 in each of the last 10 years; and how many such orders have been breached.

Maria Eagle: The number of restraining orders issued and the number of persons sentenced for breaches of a restraining order are set out in the tables.
	Statistics for 2007 will be published in the autumn.
	
		
			  Number of persons sentenced( 1)  for breach of a restraining order, all courts, England and Wales 1997-2006 
			  
			  Offence  Year  Number of persons  sentenced 
			 Breach of a restraining order 1997 14 
			  1998 273 
			  1999 471 
			  2000 561 
			  2001 534 
			  2002 597 
			  2003 689 
			  2004 760 
			  2005 876 
			  2006 861 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis.  Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.  Source: OMS Analytical Services 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of persons given a restraining order( 1)  for offences of harassment( 2) , all courts, England and Wales, 1997-2006 
			  Number of persons 
			  Disposal  Year  Offence of harassment  Racially aggravated offence of harassment  Religiously aggravated offence of harassment  Racially or religiously aggravated offence of harassment  Total 
			 Restraining order (harassment)(3) 1997  
			  1998 1515 
			  1999 3030 
			  2000 3030 
			  2001 34 1   35 
			  2002 56 4   60 
			  2003 101 7 1 2 111 
			  2004 95 10   105 
			  2005 156 11   167 
			  2006 181 11 1 1 194 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Offences of harassment under Protection from Harassment Act 1997 S.2 only have been included. (3) Section 5 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 allows for a court sentencing a person convicted of an offence under either section 2 or section 4 of the Act to impose a restraining order. The disposal code used to determine the number of restraining orders given does not separately identify offences that fall under section 2 or section 4.  Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.  Source: OMS Analytical Services

Protection from Harassment Act 1997

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the use of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 to combat abuse and harassment committed via the internet.

Maria Eagle: The Protection from Harassment Act was introduced primarily to tackle stalking. A research study published by the Home Office in August 2000 showed that it was being used to deal with a variety of behaviour other than stalking, including domestic and inter-neighbour disputes. There has been no research into the use of the Act specifically in relation to the internet but the law applies to online as well as off-line behaviour and we know from press reports that it has been used to convict people of harassment committed through that medium.

Sexual Offences: Jurisdiction

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward proposals to amend the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to apply extraterritorial jurisdiction to offences committed abroad by UK nationals which would be considered criminal under domestic law.

Maria Eagle: It is already an offence under section 72 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 for a British citizen or UK resident to commit sex offences overseas against children under the age of 16 providing that such acts are also offences in the country where they are committed.
	We have recently strengthened these provisions in section 72 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008. When this section of the Act is implemented on 14 July it will be possible to prosecute a British citizen for child sex offences committed overseas regardless of whether the acts are legal in the country in question. We have also amended the relevant age for these provisions so that they will now apply to victims under the age of 18.
	This change will mean that British citizens who travel abroad to exploit children will not be able to evade justice by targeting countries whose laws offer less protection to children than the laws of the UK.
	Taking extraterritorial jurisdiction is a major step but we believe it is fully justified in respect of offences committed against children by our citizens abroad. We have no plans to extend this further at this stage.

Wood

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much timber and how many timber products were procured by his Department and its predecessor in each of the last five years; and at what cost;
	(2)  how much timber and how many timber products were procured by his Department and its predecessor originating from independently verified legal and sustainable sources or from a licensed FLEGT partner in each of the last five years; and at what cost.

Michael Wills: We do not hold central records of the furniture purchased in the last five years, to retrieve such information would involve manual checks of local records at disproportionate time and cost. The Ministry of Justice buys the vast majority of its furniture from OGC Buying Solutions frameworks. All furniture purchased from these frameworks are from legal and sustainable sources.
	Within the National Offender Management Service, it is our policy to make furniture in-house from raw materials sourced from a range of suppliers, rather than buy the furniture as finished products.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Departmental Assets

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions over what period his Department depreciates the asset value of its  (a) vehicles,  (b) computer hardware,  (c) bespoke computer software,  (d) standard computer software,  (e) furniture and  (f) telecommunications equipment.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions depreciates its assets over periods consistent with the accounting standards laid out in HM Treasury's Financial Reporting Manual (FReM).

Departmental Buildings

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on  (a) new capital investment and  (b) refurbishment of property in each of the last 10 years, broken down by project.

Anne McGuire: The total amount spent by the Department on new capital investment and refurbishment of property in the last 10 years is set out in the following table.
	The figures include the nationwide rollout of the new Jobcentre Plus network and other major departmental initiatives in The Pension Service and Debt Management.
	It is not possible to supply the data by project, or to differentiate between new capital investment and refurbishment, as this information is not collated centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			million 
			 1997-98 52.4 
			 1998-99 14.6 
			 1999-2000 23.3 
			 2000-01 23.7 
			 2001-02 77.8 
			 2002-03 170.0 
			 2003-04 282.3 
			 2004-05 117.3 
			 2005-06 278.9 
			 2006-07 162.2

Departmental Buildings

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how frequently his Department restates the asset values of its building estate.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions, does not include in its balance sheet capital values of the land and buildings that it occupies. Properties are leased, the majority under a Private Finance Initiative contract with Land Securities Trillium.
	Further information can be found in the departmental resource accounts at:
	www.dwp.gov.uk

Departmental Conferences

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the conferences hosted by his Department in each of the last two years; and what the cost was of each conference.

Anne McGuire: The information requested is not available centrally in the format requested and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Expert Groups

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what expert groups his Department set up in each year since 1999.

Anne McGuire: Details of formal, standing bodies set up by Government to provide independent, expert advice to Departments and Ministers are published annually by the Cabinet Office. These bodies, known as advisory non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), are listed in the annual Public Bodies publication. Public Bodies also contains some details on short-term advisory groups and task forces. Copies of Public Bodies dating back to 1999 can be viewed and downloaded from:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/public/bodies.asp
	Copies are also available in the Library for the reference of Members.

Departmental Inquiries

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what independent inquiries have been commissioned by his Department in the last five years; what the  (a) purpose and  (b) cost was of each; and what steps were taken following each such inquiry.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions has commissioned one public inquiry in the last five years. On 1 October 2007 the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions announced jointly with the Lord Advocate an inquiry under the Inquires Act 2005 into the explosion and building collapse on the 11 May 2004 at the premises of ICL Plastics Ltd and ICL Tech Ltd in Glasgow which resulted in 9 deaths and 40 serious injuries.
	The remit of the inquiry is to:
	To inquire into the circumstances leading up to the incident on 11 May 2004 at the premises occupied by the ICL group of companies, Grovepark Mills, Maryhill, Glasgow.
	To consider the issues arising from such an inquiry, including the regulation of the activities at Grovepark Mills.
	To make recommendations in the light of the lessons identified from the causation and circumstances leading up to the incident.
	To report as soon as practicable.
	The cost of the inquiry, which is being shared equally between the Department for Work and Pensions and the Scottish Executive is not available because full public hearings have yet to commence.
	The Government will consider the steps to be taken following receipt of the Inquiry's report.

Departmental Manpower

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobs his Department expects to relocate under the policy of civil service job dispersal.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions' target, agreed and published as part of the 2004 spending review, was to relocate 4,000 posts from London and the South East by the end of March 2008. As at 31 March 2008, 4,045 posts were relocated out of London and the South East with a further 21 posts awaiting relocation post March.

Departmental Marketing

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department and its agencies spent on branding and marketing activity in 2007-08.

Anne McGuire: Final figures on branding and marketing expenditure for 2007-08 are not available this close to the end of the financial year.

Departmental Pay

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the average pay per hour worked by  (a) permanent and  (b) temporary staff in his Department in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by pay band.

Anne McGuire: The information is in the following table:
	
		
			  Average hourly rates of permanent and temporary staff in DWP by pay bandMarch 2008 
			  Hourly  r ate 
			  Pay Band  Permanent  Temporary 
			 Band A/Admin Assistant 7.08 6.61 
			 Band B/Admin Officer 8.51 7.72 
			 Band C/Executive Officer 11.83 11.35 
			 Band D/Higher Exec Officer 14.64 (1) 
			 Band E/Senior Exec Officer 17.67 (2) 
			 Band F/Grade 7 24.08 (2) 
			 Band G/Grade 6 30.61 (2) 
			 Senior Civil Service - Permanent 43.48 (2) 
			 (1) Insufficient Staff (2) No Staff  Notes: 1. The figures exclude all staff who are on unpaid leave, on reduced or nil pay through long-term sick absence, and staff on specialist pay scales such as accountants and lawyers. 2. The hourly rate has been calculated by dividing actual basic annual salaries by 52 to obtain the weekly rate, then the by 37 (36 for London staff) hours worked per week to obtain the rate per hour. 3. Basic salaries exclude all allowances and overtime payments.  Source:  DWP March 2008 payroll system on 31 March 2008.

Departmental Pay

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average starting salary for a civil servant taking a position in his Department as their first job was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: We do not record for those recruited to DWP whether or not it is their first job. Therefore it is not possible to accurately establish the average salaries of new civil servants who are joining DWP as their first job.

Departmental Postal Services

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on sending mail overseas in each year since 2001, broken down by delivery company.

Anne McGuire: The Department has had a contract with Spring Ltd since May 2003 for the dispatch of mail overseas. Details of expenditure with Spring Ltd are provided in the following table. Information prior to May 2003 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			   Yearly spend  () 
			 2003 (May) -04 245,417.22 
			 2004-05 782,294.79 
			 2005-06 616,385.00 
			 2006-07 688,529.40 
			 2007-08 679,510.97

Departmental Sick Leave

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much sick pay to staff in his Department cost in the last five years for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: Information available regarding the cost of sick pay to staff in the Department is listed in the following table.
	
		
			million 
			 2005-06 84.6 
			 2006-07 77.4 
			 2007-08 65.8 
		
	
	Previously, the information was not collated centrally and therefore could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Training

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies spent on training courses for staff in the last (i) 12 months and (ii) five years.

Anne McGuire: The information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Transport

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when each of his Department's and its agencies' green transport plans were introduced; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each such plan.

James Plaskitt: The scale and diverse nature of the Department for Work and Pensions' estate makes the viability of a corporate nationwide green transport plan impractical. Therefore, at this time, neither the Department, nor any of its agencies, operates such a plan.
	The Department's travel policies do, however, strongly promote sustainable commuting. This includes guidance for local managers to develop site specific plans and encourages them to do so. It allows them the flexibility to address and to fully take into account local issues, which is critical to ensuring practical solutions. Therefore individual site plans exist where specific measures have been identified or if a requirement of planning regulations.

Fair Trade Initiative

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 20 February 2008,  Official Report, column 750W, on the Fair Trade initiative, how much his Department spent on refreshments for official departmental meetings and engagements in each of the last three financial years; and what percentage of this expenditure was on Fair Trade products.

Anne McGuire: In line with Government policy, the Department is committed to Fairtrade and ethical supply routes. This commitment is reflected in our contract with the Department's Estates partner, Land Securities Trillium (LST), who provides catering facilities at many of our sites.
	The Department records details of expenditure only on beverages provided for official meetings and engagements. Fair trade tea and coffee has been served as standard for official receptions and meetings since February 2006. Details of related total expenditure and the proportion of this which was spent on Fair Trade products are provided in the following table.
	
		
			  April to March each year  Total beverage sales ()  Fair trade beverages sales ()  Proportion of fair trade ( Percentage ) 
			 2005-06 186,000 59,520 32.0 
			 2006-07 348,920 153,524 44.0 
			 2007-08 627,949 392,468 62.5

Incapacity Benefit

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to review  (a) incapacity benefit and  (b) disability allowance.

Anne McGuire: From 27 October 2008, employment and support allowance will replace incapacity benefit and income support paid on the grounds of incapacity or disability, for new customers. Existing customers will be migrated to employment and support allowance over time and as resources allow.
	Disability living allowance remains under continual review to ensure that it continues to provide help with the extra costs that disabled people face.

Low Incomes: Children

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of children there were in families in work earning less than the average national weekly income in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The information is in the following table.
	We have presented the number and proportion of all children who are in families in work in households with incomes below the median household income. This is in line with the Households Below Average Income publication.
	
		
			  Number and proportion of all children who are in families in work with below median household incomes 
			Before housing costs  After housing costs 
			  Coverage   Number (Million)  Percentage below median income  Number (Million)  Percentage below median income 
			 GB 1997-98 5.1 40 5.3 42 
			  1998-99 5.2 41 5.3 42 
			  1999-2000 5.1 40 5.4 42 
			  2000-01 5.1 40 5.4 42 
			  2001-02 5.2 42 5.5 44 
			   
			 UK 2002-03 5.4 41 5.6 43 
			  2003-04 5.3 41 5.5 43 
			  2004-05 5.5 42 5.7 44 
			  2005-06 5.4 42 5.6 44 
			  2006-07 5.5 43 5.8 45 
			  Notes 1. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income data, which are sourced from the Family Resources Survey. 2. The reference period for Household Below Average Income figures is single financial years. 3. Up to 2005-06, a child was defined as anyone aged under 16 or anyone aged 16 to 18 who is not married, in a civil partnership nor living with a partner, who is living with parents and who is in full-time non-advanced education or unwaged Government training. From 2006-07, this definition was extended to include 19-year-olds fulfilling these conditions to be in line with child benefit eligibility. 4. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series, which uses disposable household income, adjusted (or 'equivalised') for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 5. Net incomes have been used to answer the question. This includes earnings from employment and self-employment, state support, income from occupational and private pensions, investment income and other sources. Income tax payments, national insurance contributions, council tax/domestic rates and some other payments are deducted from incomes. 6. The median income is the income of the middle person in the population, such that half the population have incomes below the median and half the population have incomes above the median. The median is used instead of the mean income because the mean is affected by outlying cases with very high income values. This is consistent with relevant public service agreement indicators and the Households Below Average Income publication. 7. The figures are based on OECD equivalisation factors. 8. Figures have been presented on both a before housing cost and after housing cost basis. For before housing cost, housing costs (such as rent, water rates, mortgage interest payments, structural insurance payments and ground rent and service charges) are not deducted from income, while for after housing cost they are. This means that after housing cost incomes will generally be lower than before housing cost. 9. Number of children have been rounded to the nearest 100,000 children, while proportions of children have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. 10. Small changes should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 11. A working family has been defined as one where at least one adult is in work, either through being self-employed, working full-time or working part-time. 12. Families are defined as a single adult or couple living as married and any dependent children, including same sex couples (civil partnerships and cohabitees) from January 2006. A household is made up of one of more families. Source: Households Below Average Income, DWP

New Deal Schemes

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what type of sanctions were available in respect of each New Deal scheme in each year since 1997; how many sanctions of each type were imposed in each year; and how many were subsequently  (a) retracted and  (b) commuted.

Stephen Timms: A sanction can only be imposed in relation to mandatory new deal schemes. These are new deal for young people and new deal 25 plus. New deal for musicians is a voluntary option within each of these two schemes. New deal for lone parents, new deal for disabled people and new deal for partners are voluntary programmes and benefit sanctions are not applied to these programmes.
	People on these schemes may have their benefit sanctioned if they:-
	lose their place on a programme because of misconduct,
	give up or refuse to attend a programme,
	fail to apply for or accept a place on a programme,
	'neglect to avail' themselves of a place on a programme.
	These sanctions are for a fixed period of two weeks, rising to four weeks and then 26 weeks for repeat occurrences within the previous 12 months. The two week and four week sanctions have been in place since the introduction of the mandatory new deal schemes in 1998. The 26 week sanction was introduced in April 2001.
	Information on how many sanctions of each type were imposed in each year; and how many were subsequently retracted has been placed in the Library.
	Information on how many were subsequently commuted is not available.

Olympic Games

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials from his Department plan to attend the Beijing Olympic Games; to what purpose in each case; and what estimate he has made of the cost.

Anne McGuire: No Ministers or officials from this Department are planning on attending the Beijing Olympic games.

Pensions: Public Participation

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the responses received by his Department during the consultation exercise conducted between 28 October and 23 December 2003 on the implementation of the European Directive on the Activities and Supervision of Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision, relating to the application of Article 8 of the Directive to the Local Government Pension Scheme;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the responses received by his Department during the consultation exercise conducted between 28 October and 23 December 2003 on the implementation of the European directive on the activities and supervision of institutions for occupational retirement provision, relating to the application of Article 18 of the directive to the local government pension scheme;
	(3)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the responses received by his Department during the consultation exercise conducted between 28 October and 23 December 2003 on the implementation of the European Directive on the Activities and Supervision of Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision, relating to the exemption of the Local Government Pension Scheme from the requirements of Articles 9 to 17 of the Directive.

Mike O'Brien: I am advised that we have received no responses specifically concerning the implementation of the European directive on the activities and supervision of Institutions for occupational retirement provision relating to the application of Articles 8, 18 and 5 (exclusion from the requirements of Articles 9 to 17) of the directive to the local government pension scheme. However, copies of all the responses received by the Department during the consultation exercise relating to the general implementation of Articles 8,18 and 5 have been placed in the Library. A copy of the original consultation document has also been provided together with a copy of the Government's summary response to the consultation.

Poverty: Children

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of children were in relative poverty  (a) before housing costs and  (b) after housing costs in each year since 1997, broken down by age.

Stephen Timms: This information is in the following tables.
	Children have been split by age into four age bands. This is in line with the age breakdown presented in the 'Households Below Average Income' publication.
	
		
			  Number and proportion of children in households below 60 per cent. of median income by age group (before housing costs) 
			  Number of children (million) 
			Age of child 
			  Coverage   0 to 4  5 to 10  11 to 15  16+  All 
			 GB 1997-98 1.0 1.2 0.9 0.3 3.4 
			  1998-99 1.0 1.2 0.9 0.3 3.3 
			  1999-2000 1.0 1.1 0.9 0.2 3.3 
			  2000-01 0.9 1.0 0.9 0.2 3.0 
			  2001-02 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.3 2.9 
			
			 UK 2002-03 0.8 1.0 0.9 0.3 2.9 
			  2003-04 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.2 2.9 
			  2004-05 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.3 2.7 
			  2005-06 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.3 2.8 
			  2006-07 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.3 2.9 
		
	
	
		
			  Proportion of children (percentage) 
			Age of child 
			  Coverage   0 to 4  5 to 10  11 to 15  16+  All 
			 GB 1997-98 27 28 26 22 27 
			  1998-99 27 28 25 21 26 
			  1999-2000 28 25 25 19 26 
			  2000-01 25 22 24 20 23 
			  2001-02 25 22 23 21 23 
			
			 UK 2002-03 23 22 23 22 23 
			  2003-04 23 21 23 19 22 
			  2004-05 22 20 22 21 21 
			  2005-06 22 21 23 21 22 
			  2006-07 23 22 22 21 22 
			  Source:  Households Below Average Income, DWP. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number and proportion of children in households below 60 per cent. of median income by age group (after housing costs) 
			  Number of children (million) 
			Age of child 
			  Coverage   0 to 4  5 to 10  11 to 15  16+  All 
			 GB 1997-98 1.3 1.5  0.3 4.2 
			  1998-99 1.3 1.5  0.3 4.3 
			  1999-2000 1.3 1.4  0.3 4.2 
			  2000-01 1.2 1.4  0.3 3.9 
			  2001-02 1.1 1.3  0.3 3.9 
			
			 UK 2002-03 1.1 1.3  0.3 3.9 
			  2003-04 1.1 1.2  0.3 3.7 
			  2004-05 1.1 1.1  0.3 3.6 
			  2005-06 1.1 1.2  0.4 3.8 
			  2006-07 1.2 1.2  0.4 3.9 
		
	
	
		
			  Proportion of children (percentage) 
			Age of child 
			  Coverage   0 to 4  5 to 10  11 to 15  16+  All 
			 GB 1997-98 35 35 32 26 33 
			  1998-99 37 35 32 26 34 
			  1999-2000 37 32 32 25 33 
			  2000-01 34 31 31 26 31 
			  2001-02 33 31 30 27 31 
			
			 UK 2002-03 32 29 29 27 30 
			  2003-04 31 28 28 24 29 
			  2004-05 31 27 29 26 28 
			  2005-06 32 29 30 28 30 
			  2006-07 34 31 28 27 30 
			  Notes:  1. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income data.  2. The reference period for Households Below Average Income figures is single financial years.  3. Up to 2005-06, a child was defined as anyone aged under 16 or anyone aged 16 to 18 who is not married, in a civil partnership nor living with a partner, who is living with parents and who is in full-time non-advanced education or unwaged Government training. From 2006-07, this definition was extended to include 19-year-olds fulfilling these conditions to be in line with child benefit eligibility.  4. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication 'Households Below Average Income' (HBAI) series, which uses disposable household income, adjusted (or equivalised) for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living.  5. The figures are based on OECD equivalisation factors.  6. The Government's preferred measure of relative low income poverty is defined as being in a household with a household income of less than 60 per cent. of contemporary median income.  7. Figures have been presented on both a Before Housing Cost and After Housing Cost basis. For Before Housing Cost, housing costs (such as rent, water rates, mortgage interest payments, structural insurance payments and ground rent and service charges) are not deducted from income, while for After Housing Cost they are. This means that After Housing Cost incomes ill generally be lower than Before Housing Cost.  8. Numbers of children have been rounded to the nearest 100,000 children, while proportions of children have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. Ages have been split into four bands because of sample sizes. Total numbers of children are in line with National Statistics mid-year estimates.  9. Small changes should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response.

Remploy: York

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what provision his Department made to support those working at Remploy in York at the time of its closure.

Anne McGuire: Local Jobcentre Plus staff have been working with Remploy to provide help and advice to their York employees since December 2007. Employees were initially given job seeking and benefits advice, which included personal interviews for all disabled employees with a Disability Employment Adviser.
	Remploy have provided a comprehensive package to all affected Remploy employees, including those at York. This included the provision of a permanent Remploy Employment adviser dedicated to ensuring that disabled employees are placed successfully into new jobs. In addition, Remploy has contracted with a specialist York based provider, Future Prospects to work proactively with key stakeholders to help Remploy's disabled employees, including the allocation of specialist learning and work advisers.
	Jobcentre Plus has liaised with Remploy Advisers to provide vacancy information and have given all affected Remploy York employees day one eligibility to access Jobcentre Plus programmes and provision immediately.

Remploy: York

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many former employees at Remploy in York have found new employment, broken down by  (a) employer and  (b) location.

Anne McGuire: Of the 21 former Remploy York employees who requested a work placement through Remploy Employment Services, four are on pre-placement activities, for example job search and preparation, and a total of 15 have been placed in permanent work, mainstream work trials or placements in a more supportive environment. Information on the employer and location for each of the 15 is in the following table.
	
		
			  Employer  Location  Number employed 
			 Age Concern Acomb, York 1 
			 Sodexo Fulford Road, York 1 
			 St Mikes Church Minster Yard, York 1 
			 Age Concern Walmgate, York 1 
			 Halfords Foss Island, York 2 
			 British Heart Foundation Strensall, York 1 
			 Asda Monks Cross, York 2 
			 Tesco Tadcaster Road, York 3 
			 British Heart Foundation Acomb, York 1 
			 York Minster Minster Yard, York 1 
			 Future Prospects York 1 
			  Source:  Remploy 
		
	
	Eight former Remploy York employees who opted for voluntary redundancy or early retirement are receiving help from Remploy to find work. A further two former employees have found work in York City Centre, working for Kindom.

Skilled Workers

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the establishment of the Integrated Employment and Skills Service cost.

Stephen Timms: The Integrated Employment and Skills Service will commence in 2010-11 and will be delivered primarily by Jobcentre Plus and the new adult advancement and careers service. Design and development work is under way to test the new service from autumn 2008.
	In order to take forward our plans for an Integrated Employment and Skills Service through the creation of the advancement and careers service and skills accounts, we have set aside new funding rising to at least 50 million a year by 2010-11.
	Further investment of 2.0 million in 2008-09 and a further 2.0 million in 2009-10 has been made available to support the development of advancement prototypes to test the most effective ways of providing access to wider sources of advice.

Skilled Workers

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people the Integrated Employment and Skills Service employs.

Stephen Timms: The Integrated Employment and Skills Service is not a new organisation but the title for a new offer for customers, which will be delivered primarily by Jobcentre Plus and the new adult advancement and careers service. It does not involve the creation of a new organisation and will be delivered by existing staff from the key delivery organisations although capacity will be kept under review as the new offer is implemented.

Social Security Benefits

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the levels of welfare dependency in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of levels of welfare dependency in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: There is no simple definition of the term welfare dependency. The Department's policies aim to reduce the numbers claiming out-of-work benefits by helping individuals, particularly long-term claimants and others at a particular disadvantage in the labour market, to move into and progress in work. The number on out of work benefits has fallen by over a millionor around 20 per cent.in the past ten years. The figures in the following table show the number of working age people claiming an out-of-work benefit in November each year since 1998.
	
		
			  Numbers of working age claiming out-of-work benefits 
			  Date (As at November each year)  Jobseeker's allowance (claimant count)( 1)  Incapacity benefits( 2)  Lone parents on income support (IS)( 2)  Carer( 4)  Other (IS others and pension credit)( 3, 5) 
			 1998 1,325,300 2,643,730 938,950  229,380 
			 1999 1,184,100 2,674,710 930,240 316,500 218,370 
			 2000 1,035,600 2,722,570 905,760 311,560 196,690 
			 2001 959,700 2,746,020 878,590 328,620 179,080 
			 2002 936,400 2,776,560 856,230 343,720 161,360 
			 2003 913,000 2,780,490 831,750 353,250 154,200 
			 2004 829,500 2,772,180 796,530 361,420 157,940 
			 2005 900,900 2,710,500 778,560 363,340 155,740 
			 2006 947,700 2,672,960 775,620 371,710 161,100 
			 2007 814,400 2,641,700 741,830 379,350 167,290 
			 (1) UK figures (seasonally adjusted) published by ONS. This 100 per cent. series is the most reliable and up-to-date source for claimant unemployment. (2) GB figures (not seasonally adjusted). Published by DWP back to August 1999 as part of the 100 per cent. working age client group analysis. Earlier consistent figures have been created by combining information from the previously published five per cent. sample data with the WPLS data. A consistent series for the UK as a whole is not readily available. (3) GB figures (not seasonally adjusted). Published by DWP back to August 1999 as part of the 100 per cent. working age client group analysis. Before this point a five per cent. sample series is used, scaled to be consistent with the 100 per cent. data. (4) Figures on carers are only available from November 1999 onwards. (5) Other income related benefit: includes claimants on income support who are sick and cannot claim incapacity benefit.

Social Security Benefits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library a list of the benefits and payments made available by his Department and the conditions required to claim each of those benefits and payments.

James Plaskitt: To place the comprehensive and detailed information requested in the Library would incur disproportionate cost.
	However, information about all the Department's services, including the qualifying conditions for benefits and payments and the level of entitlements, is made generally available in a wide range of formats. For instance Directgov (www.direct.gov.uk/en/index.htm) provides a 'beginner's guide to benefits', including guides to enable customers to work out if they are able to get any state benefit assistance particularly if they are sick, have a low income or dependent children; an overview of the benefits system, including how payments are made and how to make a claim; and changes that affect benefits.
	Comprehensive and detailed information concerning the legal requirements for entitlement to benefits and payments is set out in the law relating to social security which is available in the Library and online at:
	www.dwp.gov.uk/advisers/docs/lawvols/bluevol/

State Retirement Pensions

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the basic state pension was as a percentage of average earnings in each year since 1978.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 22 May 2008
	The information requested is already published in the Annual Abstract of Statistics, in Table 5.1 at the link:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/abstract/Abstract2006.pdf

Student: Sight Impaired

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of people affected by changes in the rules governing the funding of the VIEW national diploma for piano tuners;
	(2)  how many blind applicants to courses leading to the VIEW national diploma for piano tuners there were in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007 and  (c) 2008; what assessment he has made of the effect of the changes to funding arrangements on take-up of diploma courses; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: We do not believe that anyone has been adversely affected by the changes. Information about the number of applicants to courses leading to the VIEW national diploma for piano tuners is not available as figures are not available broken down by course.
	Information about the number of customers starting the VIEW national diploma for piano tuners is in the table.
	
		
			  Number of customers starting the VIEW national diploma for piano tuners 
			  April to March each year  Number of starts on the programme 
			 2006-07 2 
			 2007-08 2 
		
	
	Residential training, as with other specialist disability employment programmes, is kept under regular review through the contract management process. We work closely with all colleges to carefully assess the overall impact of recent contractual changes and agree suitable ways forward.

Taylor Nelson Sofres

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the value of contracts awarded to Taylor Nelson Sofres by his Department was in each year since 1997.

Anne McGuire: Information from 1997 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.
	However, since 2003 my Department has awarded the following contracts to Taylor Nelson Sofres.
	
		
			   Title  Cost () 
			 2003 Reforming services to pensioners: Testing pension service design elements with customers 97,500 
			 2004 Pension credit tracking research 26,750 
			 2005 Initial evaluation of the Phase 1 Age Partnership Group (APG) Be Ready national guidance campaign products 58,000 
			  Baseline survey for new deal for skills adult learning option 255,410 
			 2006 Evaluation of the Phase 2 Age Partnership Group (APG) Be Ready national guidance campaign products 69,125 
			 2007 Marketing material to build awareness of CSA's enforcement powers 5,000

TREASURY

Block Grant: Northern Ireland

Owen Paterson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list any proposed changes to the block grant arrangements for Northern Ireland following recent discussions between the Government, the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Fin.

Yvette Cooper: There are no proposed changes to the block grant arrangements for Northern Ireland.

Child Tax Credit

Paul Rowen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effect on child poverty of extending the current baby addition element to children  (a) under two years and  (b) under five years.

Jane Kennedy: Extending the baby addition element of the child tax credit to families with one or more children under two, would lift around 50,000 out of poverty, at a cost of around 300 million a year.
	Extending the baby addition element of the child tax credit to families with one or more children under five, would lift around 100,000 children out of poverty, at a cost of around 1 billion a year.

Child Tax Credit Helpline

Jo Swinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints the Child Tax Credits Helpline received in each quarter in each of the last five years; and what the ratio of complaints to new cases was in each such period.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 21 May 2008
	 HMRC operates the tax credits helpline. This covers both child tax credit and working tax credit. I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 4 September 2006,  Official Report, column 2004W, which detailed the number of complaints received about the tax credits helpline in each quarter to 31 March 2006. The following table provides the figures for the year to 31 March 2007.
	
		
			  Quarter  2006-07 
			 1 430 
			 2 527 
			 3 588 
			 4 546 
		
	
	For the year ended 31 March 2008 figures are available only at disproportionate cost.
	The figure for the number of new tax credits claims received that have gone on to successful awards in each quarter is:
	
		
			  Quarter  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 1 322,000 270,000 249,000 224,000 
			 2 297,000 269,000 244,000 274,000 
			 3 308,000 295,000 270,000 277,000 
			 4 297,000 261,000 282,000 263,000 
		
	
	Figures for the year 2003-04 are not available.

Crime: Computers

Don Touhig: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost of electronic crime to the UK economy in the last 12 months.

Vernon Coaker: I have been asked to reply.
	While there are data on aspects of the problem, there is no central estimate of the cost of cybercrime to the economy in 2007-08.
	APACS, the UK's financial association have made estimates on the cost of fraud committed online born by the financial institutions. The most recently published APACS figures (March 2008) for card not present fraud (CNP) show that in 2007 223.8 million of CNP losses took place over the internet. This accounts for 77 per cent. of total CNP losses and is an increase of 45 per cent. from 2006. APACS figures also show that in 2007 total losses for online banking fraud were 22.6 million, a decrease of 33 per cent. from the previous year.

Departmental Buildings

Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on which buildings occupied by his Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies the lease will be due for renewal in the next four years.

Angela Eagle: Leases on areas occupied by Treasury agencies and non-departmental public bodies in the following buildings will expire during the next four years:
	Rosebery Court, Norwich
	Royal Liver Building, Liverpool

Departmental Manpower

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many jobs his Department expects to relocate under the policy of civil service job dispersal.

Angela Eagle: Following the Lyons Review in 2004, the Treasury Group committed to relocate 26.5 posts by 2007-08. This target was achieved by March 2007. Since then a further 11.5 posts have been relocated.

Departmental Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 25 March 2008,  Official Report, column 38W, on departmental pay, what the minimum and maximum of each pay range listed are.

Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the information published on 27 February 2008,  Official Report, columns 1635-38W.
	The revised information for the senior civil service with effect from 1 April 2008 is as follows:
	
		
			   Pay range () at 1 April 2008 
			  Pay band  Minimum  Recruitments performance ceiling 
			 1 57,300 116,000 
			 2 81,600 160,000 
			 3 99,960 205,000 
		
	
	
		
			   Pay range () at 1 April 2008 
			   Minimum  Maximum 
			 Permanent secretaries 139,740 273,250 
		
	
	In addition the Treasury pays a London allowance of 2,000 to those in pay band 1.

Departmental Retirement

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the standard retirement age in his Department is; and how many people worked beyond the standard retirement age in each of the last five years.

Angela Eagle: The mandatory retirement age in the Treasury is 65. Before the change in legislation in October 2006 the mandatory retirement age was 60. We have received no applications to work beyond the mandatory retirement age in each of the last five years.

Departmental Secondment

Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what procedures his Department uses to ensure equal opportunities in relation to staff secondments to the Department.

Angela Eagle: The Treasury's commitment to equal opportunities applies equally to staff seconded into the organisation as to permanent staff. All secondees are required to complete an Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form, specific details from which feed into the HR management information which is used to monitor trends and for reporting purposes.

Departmental Secondment

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employees of  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies in (i) the Senior Civil Service and (ii) other Civil Service grades are (A) located in and (B) seconded to the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Angela Eagle: The number of employees currently (A) located in and (B) seconded to the Department for Children, Schools and Families can be found in the following table:
	
		
			   Senior civil service  Other civil service grades 
			 HM Treasury 1 2 
			 Office of Government and Commerce 0 0 
			 OGC Buying Solutions 0 0 
			 Debt Management Office 0 0

EU: Finance

John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the end location of money underspent within the EU budget since 1997; what the sum was in each year; and whether any overspend was returned to the Exchequer.

Kitty Ussher: Any budget surplus from one year's EC Budget is entered as revenue in the following year's Budget by means of an amending Budget for that year. Since 1997 the surpluses which have been returned in the following year have been as follows:
	
		
			billion 
			 1997 0.100 
			 1998 3.022 
			 1999 2.825 
			 2000 11.613 
			 2001 15.003 
			 2002 7.413 
			 2003 5.470 
			 2004 2.737 
			 2005 2.410 
			 2006 1.848 
			 2007 1.529 
		
	
	The return of these surpluses in the following year serve to reduce member states contributions in that year by a reduction in their respective GNI-based contributions. The UK would therefore have seen a reduction in its contribution in line with its GNI share in each instance.

Financial Services

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  when he plans to publish the Financial Capability Action Plan;
	(2)  when he plans to publish details of the Thoresen Review Pathfinder.

Kitty Ussher: The Government will publish the Financial Capability Action Plan, jointly with the Financial Services Authority, in July. The Action Plan will include further detail on the Money Guidance Pathfinder.

London and Continental Railways: Finance

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to the public purse has been of support to London and Continental Railways by means of  (a) public expenditure and  (b) the granting of Government guarantees.

Yvette Cooper: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced in February 2006 that London and Continental Railways (LCR) would be classified as a public sector corporation. This was backdated to 1999. As such LCR's net financial position is treated as public expenditure, and scores against the Department for Transport's departmental expenditure limit. To date, expenditure by the company has scored as 5,828 million within capital budgets and 2,022 million within current budgets. The departmental expenditure limit has not been increased to accommodate LCR costs.
	Much of the cash flow for LCR's expenditure is funded through external borrowing, of which some has been backed by government guarantees. These guarantees have been reported to Parliament as contingent liabilities and recorded in the Resource Accounts of the Department for Transport on the same basis as UKGAAP.
	Contingent liabilities are defined as being contingent on an event, or a set of events, whose likelihood of occurring has been accepted by independent auditors as being remote.

Minimum Wage

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green of 20 June 2008,  Official Report, column 1202W, on the minimum wage, how many people were found to be paid below the minimum wage in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority.

Jane Kennedy: HMRC do not hold national minimum wage statistical data by reference to local authority.

Office of Government Commerce: Contracts

Mark Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer under what circumstances potential bidders for Office of Government Commerce contracts are required to pre-qualify for the award of any such contracts.

Angela Eagle: The Public Contracts Regulations regulates the procurement procedures to be followed by the Office of Government Commerce and OGCbuying.Solutions where the value of the requirement exceeds certain thresholds, starting at 90,319. These regulations include a selection stage that sets out certain pre-qualification information which purchasing authorities may seek from prospective tenderers, such as the candidate company's legal status, their financial standing and technical capacity and capability to undertake the contract.
	Most public procurements will follow a two-stage process whereby purchasers will assess the pre-qualification information provided by companies in order to determine those suitable to proceed to the tender stage of the procurement.

Poynter Review

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to publish the final report of the Poynter Review of data security.

Jane Kennedy: My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer did so on 25 June. A copy is available in the Library of the House.

Public Expenditure

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to publish the factual paper on the Barnett formula.

Yvette Cooper: No decision has been made yet on the date of publication.

Revenue and Customs: Chorley

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will instruct HM Revenue and Customs to postpone the closure of Chorley HM Revenue and Customs to allow for the formulation of a business case for remaining open.

Jane Kennedy: My answer to my hon. Friend of 13 June 2008,  Official Report, column 615W, explained that the decision to close the Chorley office was taken, following an eight week consultation exercise which allowed staff, unions and key external stakeholders ample opportunity to comment on the proposals. HMRC do not have a business reason to retain the office and therefore have no plans to postpone the closure. The inquiry centre will be maintained either in the current building or nearby.

Revenue and Customs: Closures

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much it is expected will be saved by closing Truro tax office.

Jane Kennedy: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have too much office space and are engaged in a review programme to decide which offices should be retained as best suiting its future business needs. The two HMRC offices in Truro have been grouped in a cluster for review purposes with those in Falmouth, Redruth and St. Austell, and proposals were published on 11 June 2008. Both Truro offices have been proposed for vacation, but final decisions are not expected until later this year. Detailed feasibility work on how much HMRC might expect to save by the proposals is still at an early stage, but potential estate cost savings alone are estimated to be in the region of 180,000 per year.

Revenue and Customs: Data Protection

David Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will establish a page on his Department's website to chart HM Revenue and Customs' progress in implementing the recommendations of the Poynter Review of information security.

Jane Kennedy: HMRC's current progress with implementing the Poynter Report recommendations is detailed at Section XV of the report, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
	Subsequent progress on data security will be reported in HMRC's Departmental Report and Accounts, in this, and future years with copies posted on the HMRC website.

Revenue and Customs: Operating Costs

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the operating costs of each tax office in Cornwall were in 2007-08.

Jane Kennedy: The accommodation running costs for HMRC's estate in Cornwall as a whole were 1,612,601 in 2007-08. This is comprised of building rent, business rates, service and utility costs for its seven properties in the county, namely, Penhaligon House, St. Austell, Piran House, Redruth, Penlowarth, Penzance, Lysnoweth and Pydar House, Truro, Madford House, Launceston and Custom House, Falmouth.
	A specific breakdown for each office cannot be supplied for reasons of commercial sensitivity relating to the accommodation and facility contract between HMRC and its estate partner, Mapeley.

Revenue and Customs: Scotland

Alex Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much HM Revenue and Customs and its predecessor organisations spent on their buildings in Scotland in each year since 1997.

Jane Kennedy: Expenditure details prior to April 2005 and the creation of HM Revenue and Customs are not available other than at disproportionate cost. HM Revenue and Customs' fixed accommodation cash running costs on its office buildings in Scotland for the last three years was:
	
		
			   Cash cost (net of VAT)  () 
			 2005-06 31,468,120 
			 2006-07 33,850,205 
			 2007-08 34,733,990 
		
	
	These costs are made up of the PFI unitary charge for the provision of the serviced accommodation in PFI properties, rent and landlord service charge for non-PFI properties, facilities management costs (the provision of soft services, e.g. security and cleaning), business rates and utilities. These figures are gross of the cost of other Government Departments' minor occupation of HMRC's office buildings in Scotland.

Television

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on  (a) commissioning and  (b) funding the production of television programmes (i) in each of the last three years and (ii) in 2008-09 to date; what programmes these were; and which companies made them.

Angela Eagle: The Treasury has not commissioned or funded the production of any television programmes in the last three years or during 2008-09 to date.

Wood

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how much timber and timber products were procured by his Department in each of the last five years; and at what cost;
	(2)  how much timber and timber products were procured by his Department originating from independently verified legal and sustainable sources or from a licensed FLEGT partner in each of the last five years; and at what cost.

Angela Eagle: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Treasury actively seeks to buy all wood and wood products (including furniture) from legal and sustainable sources.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many penalty notices for disorder in relation to the sale of alcohol to a person under 18 years of age were issued in  (a) England and Wales and  (b) each police force area in each year since 2004; how many of these resulted in an unpaid fine in each area, and what the average fine levied was.

Vernon Coaker: The number of persons issued with a penalty notice for disorder (PND) for the offence of selling alcohol to a person under 18 years of age in each year since 2004 in  (a) England and Wales and  (b) by police force area can be viewed in the following table. The table also includes the number of PNDs not paid by the end of statutory enforcement period, which were registered as fines  (a) in England and Wales and  (b) by police force area.
	The offence attracts an 80 penalty. Where the offender either fails to pay the penalty or opts for a court hearing, a fine of one and half times the penalty amount (120) is registered against them.
	
		
			  Number of penalty notices for disorder issued to all persons aged 16 and over, for the offence of selling, alcohol to a person aged under 18 by police force area and outcome, England and Wales, 2004 to 2006( 1, 2, 3, 4) 
			   2004( 1)  2005  2006 
			  Police force area  Number issued  Total unpaid  Number issued  Total unpaid  Number issued  Total unpaid 
			 Avon and Somerset 0 0 56 5 54 4 
			 Bedfordshire 0 0 2 0 13 4 
			 Cambridgeshire 0 0 11 0 29 1 
			 Cheshire 0 0 49 3 50 4 
			 Cleveland 0 0 33 1 23 3 
			 Cumbria 0 0 23 0 21 2 
			 Derbyshire 0 0 8 1 30 3 
			 Devon and Cornwall 0 0 82 7 115 15 
			 Dorset 22 4 22 0 29 5 
			 Durham 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Essex 7 0 120 6 94 12 
			 Gloucestershire 0 0 42 5 54 6 
			 Greater Manchester 0 0 127 28 211 32 
			 Hampshire 2 1 67 9 109 10 
			 Hertfordshire 0 0 3 0 41 3 
			 Humberside 2 0 45 4 48 4 
			 Kent 0 0 10 6 5 1 
			 Lancashire 30 27 190 27 206 27 
			 Leicestershire 2 0 46 6 59 10 
			 Lincolnshire 0 0 26 2 57 7 
			 London, City of 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Merseyside 2 0 73 16 127 15 
			 Metropolitan Police 21 3 161 28 252 29 
			 Norfolk 0 0 0 0 10 1 
			 North Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 11 0 
			 Northamptonshire 1 1 39 6 34 6 
			 Northumbria 1 1 48 3 84 19 
			 Nottinghamshire 9 0 117 17 265 42 
			 South Yorkshire 2 0 107 9 158 20 
			 Staffordshire 0 0 19 1 75 7 
			 Suffolk 0 0 19 1 21 2 
			 Surrey 0 0 0 0 34 2 
			 Sussex 0 0 63 2 216 27 
			 Thames Valley 0 0 12 0 95 10 
			 Warwickshire 0 0 3 1 5 0 
			 West Mercia 1 0 22 1 34 2 
			 West Midlands 6 2 114 15 143 24 
			 West Yorkshire 4 0 72 13 105 24 
			 Wiltshire 0 0 8 1 18 5 
			
			 England 112 39 1,839 224 2,936 368 
			
			 Dyfed Powys 0 0 18 0 9 1 
			 Gwent 0 0 20 2 50 15 
			 North Wales 1 0 58 12 83 21 
			 South Wales 0 0 123 15 117 14 
			
			 Wales 1 0 219 29 259 51 
			
			 England and Wales 113 39 2,058 253 3,195 439 
			 (1) Offence added to the PND scheme on 1 November 2004, therefore PND information for this year is for November and December only. (2) Includes the following statutes and corresponding offence descriptions: Sell alcohol to a person under 18 S.169A Licensing Act 1964 Sale of alcohol anywhere to a person under 18 s.146(1) of the Licensing Act 2003 The latter statute replaced the former in November 2005. (3) The British Transport Police began issuing PNDs in 2006. However, none were issued by them for this offence. (4) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Sources: Penalty notice for disorder (PND) database held by CJEA (Criminal Justice, Evidence and Analysis) Office for Criminal Justice Reform Ministry of Justice

Asylum: Iraq

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make a statement on the operation of the Locally Employed Staff Assistance Scheme, with particular reference to  (a) the provisional and transitional arrangements for (i) accommodation, (ii) schooling, (iii) language training and (iv) other support,  (b) longer term plans for those benefiting from the scheme and  (c) the position of those currently located in third countries.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 19 June 2008
	 Since we announced our intention to help those who served our forces in Iraq families have begun arriving in the UK, with more to come this summer. They are given housing, English lessons, financial support and have a case worker who helps them to resettle and access health and education services. Accommodation is provided through a variety of providers who assess the housing needs of families to provide suitable short and long term accommodation. Advice and training to enable access to work is also provided by appropriate agencies.
	By providing both current and former locally engaged staff with indefinite leave to remain in the UK we are showing a real commitment to providing a new start for the staff who have worked for us in Iraq. The first group of former staff were interviewed (in a third country) by UK Border Agency staff in May 2008 and those accepted will arrive in the UK from July onwards. The UK Border Agency will return in July to interview the second group of former locally engaged staff.

British Nationality (Honorary Citizenship) Bill

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 18 June 2008,  Official Report, column 967W, on the British Nationality (Honorary Citizenship) Bill, if she will place in the Library a copy of the file; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: I will write to the hon. Member with the information it is appropriate to release.

British Nationality: Assessments

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times the Life in the UK Test was  (a) taken by an applicant and  (b) passed in each year since its introduction.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 26 June 2008
	Applicants may take the Life in the UK Test as many times as they wish but records are not kept of how many times each individual applicant takes the test. The number of tests taken and passed since its introduction is:
	
		
			   2005  2006  2007  2008 January to April  All tests to date 
			 Total tests 7,398 155,879 308,126 101,386 572,789 
			 Pass 5,249 105,403 214,705 73,424 398,781 
			 Fail 2,149 50,476 93,421 27,962 174,008 
			 Pass rate (percentage) 71.0 67.6 69.7 72.4 69.6

Colonel Karuna

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the reasons are for the detention of Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan, commonly known as Colonel Karuna, a Sri Lankan citizen; what his immigration status is; and whether he is being considered for deportation.

Liam Byrne: It is the general policy of the UK Border Agency not to disclose to a third party personal information about another person, including information concerning their immigration status, as well as personal details, mainly for reasons of privacy, data protection and child protection.

Departmental Assets

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department over what period her Department depreciates the asset value of its  (a) vehicles,  (b) computer hardware,  (c) bespoke computer software,  (d) standard computer software,  (e) furniture and  (f) telecommunications equipment.

Liam Byrne: The Department depreciates its fixed assets over periods consistent with the accounting standards laid out in the Financial Reporting Manual.

Departmental Aviation

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individual domestic air flights were undertaken within mainland Britain by representatives of  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies in the most recent year for which figures are available; and at what cost.

Liam Byrne: The Department recorded spend of 1.17 million on domestic flights in financial year 2007-08; information on the number of domestic flights undertaken by Home Office can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Criminal Records Bureau spent 4,000 on 16 flights; Identity and Passport Service spent 472,000 on approximately 2,500 flights.
	The above figures are subject to audit of the Department's 2007-08 Resource Accounts.
	The Department expects all official travel to be carried out by the most efficient and economic means available, taking into account the cost of travel and subsistence, savings in official time, management benefit, and the needs of staff with disabilities.
	Travel by Ministers and civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code respectively.

Departmental Buildings

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the value of the property held by  (a) her Department and  (b) associated public bodies was at the most recent date for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: Details of the value of property held, including valuation dates, can be found at Notes 1 and 14 to the Department's 2006-07 Resource Accounts on the Home Office website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/resource-accounts-06-07
	The value of property held by the following executive non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) can be found in their own published annual reports and accounts for 2006-07 which can be obtained from the Stationery Office, relevant body or at the following website addresses:
	
		
			  Public body  Website 
			 Serious Organised Crime Agency http://www.soca.gov.uk/assessPublications/socaAnnualReport0708.html 
			 Independent Police Complaints Commission http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/index/resources/evidence_reports/corp_reports-plans.htm 
			 Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc0607/hc07/0757/0757.asp 
			 Security Industry Authority http://www.the-sia.orq.uk/home/aboutsia/publications/publications_financial.htm 
		
	
	Values for National Policing Improvement Agency, which formed on 1 April 2007, will become available when its 2007-08 set of accounts is finalised.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 27 March 2008,  Official Report, column 351W, on ministerial policy advisers, which former special advisers have  (a) received approval from and  (b) been refused permission by her Department to take up an outside appointment on leaving their post since May 2005.

Liam Byrne: Personal information about the applications submitted by special advisers, and other Crown servants, is made public only in accordance with the principles and practices followed in the operation of the Business Appointment Rules. This information, which includes details of the appointments of the most senior staff and statistical data about cases at the more junior levels, is published on the website of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (www.acoba.gov.uk) and in its reports.

Departmental Older Workers

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people over the age of 55 years have been recruited by her Department in each of the last three years.

Liam Byrne: Data for staff joining above the age of 55 are unavailable and will incur disproportionate cost to collect.

Departmental Pay

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of staff in her Department received bonus payments in 2006-07; what the total amount of bonuses paid was; what the largest single payment was; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Within the Home Office Headquarters and the UK Border Agency, bonuses may be awarded in the form of annual, appraisal-related awards based on exceptional contribution throughout the year; or special bonuses for exceptional outstanding achievements by staff in particularly demanding tasks or situations. Senior civil servants can be awarded bonuses as set out in the senior salaries review body report number 62.
	Table 1 provides information about the amount paid in end of year bonuses (annual appraisal related) and special bonuses in 2006-07 to staff working within Home Office and its Agencies (UK Border Agency, Identity and Passport Service and Criminal Records Bureau) and includes information for senior civil servants.
	The largest single payment paid was 20,000 as end of year bonus, which was awarded to a member of the senior civil service in line with Cabinet Office guidance on SCS bonus payments.
	
		
			  Bonus type  Amoun t  paid  Number of payments made  Total number of eligible staff  Proportion of staff receiving a bonus 
			 End of year(1) 5,735,416 9,261 27,681 33 
			 Special 3,028,464 7,099 (2)28,163 25 
			 (1) IPS staff do not receive appraisal related bonuses, but are eligible for end of year corporate bonuses. (2) CRB do not have end of year bonuses, but the 482 staff are eligible to receive in-year special bonuses.

Departmental Sick Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much sick pay to staff in her Department cost in the last five years for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: We are unable to provide the information requested from available sources and commissioning a special report would incur disproportionate cost.

Departmental Trade Unions

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which trade unions represent members of staff in  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies.

Liam Byrne: Staff in Home Office headquarters are represented by the unions FDA, the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) and Prospect.
	Staff in the Criminal Records Bureau are represented by PCS; in the Identity and Passport Service by FDA and PCS; and in the UK Border Agency by FDA, PCS, Prospect and the Immigration Service Union.

Departmental Vetting

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what procedures her Department follows for checking the criminal records of employees; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what percentage of successful applicants for jobs in her Department are subjected to a criminal records check; how many  (a) successful applicants and  (b) criminal records checks there were in each of the last 10 years; how many successful applicants were found to have a criminal record after a criminal records check took place in each of the last 10 years; whether the selection of successful candidates to be subjected to a criminal records check is random or targeted; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The current position is that all staff recruited to posts within the Home Office and its agencies (the UK Border Agency, Identity and Passport Service and Criminal Records Bureau) are subject to criminal records checks as part of the National Security Vetting (NSV). Checks are not random. Vetting is reviewed at various times during service.
	Table 1 shows the number of individuals subject to NSV.
	Machinery of Government changes will have affected those to whom NSV applied over the last 10 years.
	The figures also include renewal of security clearance; not all refusals of NSV will have been for reasons of criminality.
	All figures include those HM Prison Service posts where the Home Office Departmental Security Unit was required to complete the security clearance. HM Prison Service became an agency of the Ministry of Justice in May 2007.
	
		
			   Granted NSV( 1)  Refused NSV( 2)  Total 
			 1 April 1999 to 31 March 1999 10,708 240 10,948 
			 1 April to 31 March 2000 12,829 303 13,132 
			 1 April 2000 to 31 January 2001 20,928 694 21,622 
			 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 26,079 767 26,846 
			 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003 30,391 1,188 31,579 
			 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 27,237 2,251 29,488 
			 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005 24,155 1,239 25,393 
			 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 26,592 1,305 27,897 
			 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007 27,535 1,827 29,363 
			 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008 21,151 1,018 22,169 
			 Total 227,605 10,832 238,437 
			 (1) Numbers include cases where a criminal record did not preclude granting of NSV. (2) Numbers include applicants who withdrew or where a criminal record may have resulted in refusal.

Departmental Written Questions

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many days it took on average to answer written parliamentary questions tabled by each hon. Member for answer by her in the last six months.

Tony McNulty: The information for each member could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	However, a manual check of the parliamentary questions database showed that it took on average, seven days to answer written questions tabled by the hon. Member from the start of the 2007-08 Session to 23 June 2008.

Deportation

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many EU nationals deported from the UK were prohibited from return for a fixed period in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: All nationals deported from the UK are prohibited from returning to the UK when a deportation order is in place. A deportation order will remain in place unless or until it is revoked.

Dungavel Immigration and Detention Centre

Adam Ingram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions the Children's Commissioner for Scotland has visited Dungavel Immigration and Detention Centre; when she last reported to her Department on the centre; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland has visited Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre on two occasionsJune 2004 and April this year.
	No formal report was received following either visit.

Dungavel Immigration and Detention Centre

Adam Ingram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the most recent report was received from HM Inspector of Prisons on the running of Dungavel Immigration and Detention Centre; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The most recent HM Inspector of Prisons' report on the running of Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre (IRC), which was described as the best run IRC ever inspected, was published on 16 May 2007.

Electronic Crime

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how much funding was made available to tackle electronic crime in each of the past five years;
	(2)  how many businesses in England and Wales were estimated to have been victims of electronic crime in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office allocates core grants to police forces on an annual basis without stipulating where the grant should be spent.
	The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) also receives a delegated budget for law enforcement. One of SOCA's precursor organisations, the National Crime Squad, received a budget for law enforcement as well as specific allocated funding for the National Hi-Tech Crime Team (NHTCU). At SOCA's inception, in 2006, 8.509 million, in respect of NHTCU, was baselined into SOCA's funding. SOCA has a dedicated e-crime unit and its budget is decided by the SOCA Board.
	The SOCA budget also includes funding for the Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre (CEOP). In the financial year 2006-07 CEOP received a budget from SOCA of 5.110 million; this was increased to 5.657 million for 2007-08; and is 5.77 million for 2008-09.
	The Government take this form of crime seriously, and are currently considering how best to tackle such crimes. No decision has been taken on the formation of an e-crime unit, but we are considering how we take an overall approach to issues such as electronic fraud, and are discussing these with a number of law enforcement agencies.
	No estimate has been made of how many businesses in England and Wales were victims of electronic crime in each of the last five years.

Entry Clearances: EU Enlargement

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2007,  Official Report, column 82W, on entry clearances: EU enlargement, what her policy is on Case C-16/05 of the European Court of Justice, 2007/C269/09, with particular reference to the consequences of the judgment for policy formulation.

Liam Byrne: The Secretary of State for the Home Department accepts that this judgment allows Turkish nationals to apply to establish in business under the requirements in force in 1973, including applying for entry clearance for this purpose. Entry clearance applications will be accepted under new guidelines by overseas missions starting in July 2008. This will be accompanied by the publication of revised policy.

Entry Clearances: Females

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate her Department has made of the number of women who, after initially coming to the United Kingdom on a spousal visa, returned to their country of origin after separating from their spouses following domestic violence in the latest period for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 23 June 2008
	The requested information is not available.

Entry Clearances: Russia

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 12 June 2008,  Official Report, column 472W, on entry clearances, how many visits have been made to the UK by Russian citizens in the last 12 months; and how many visas had been issued at each of the visa application centres in Russia.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 20 June 2008
	The latest information on visits to the United Kingdom by Russian nationals is published in Table 2.3 in the Home Office Command Paper 'Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 2006' which is available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-publications.html
	Data for 2007 are due to be published in August.
	The total number of visas issued at our posts in Russia in the last 12 months (1 June 2007 to 31 May 2008) is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Moscow 112,871 
			 St. Petersburg 22,548 
			 Yekaterinburg 7,708

Entry Clearances: Russia

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what fee is charged at visa application centres in the Russian Federation to Russian citizens seeking to enter the UK for the purposes of marriage; and if she will review the charges made for marriage visas where the parties are both  (a) of pensionable age and  (b) previously widowed.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 23 June 2008
	 The fee charged for an application to enter the UK for the purpose of marriage is 515. The UKBA do not intend to review the charges made for marriage visas where both parties are of pensionable age and where they have been previously widowed.

Entry Clearances: Students

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what account is taken of students visiting the UK from outside the EU on a six month visitor visa for immigration statistics purposes; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Statistics on passengers given leave to enter the United Kingdom by category are published in table 2.2 in the Command Paper, Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom.
	The latest published statistics are for 2006 and may be obtained from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
	Statistics for 2007 are due to be published in August 2008.
	Non EEA nationals visiting the UK as students on six month visitor conditions are categorised as follows:
	Prior to 1 September 2007, short term students were categorised according to the category under which they sought leave to enter. Those intending not to work were granted leave to enter under the visitor category. Those intending to work part-time were granted leave to enter under the student category. Prior to September 2007, those entering under the visitor category were also permitted to study.
	A new student visitor category was introduced from 1 September 2007. This provided for short term students who wished to study in the UK but who did not wish to take part-time employment or seek an extension to their student visitor leave. It is intended to include these within the student category in the 2007 published statistics.

Espionage

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to paragraph 4.66 of the National Security Strategy of the United Kingdom, Cm 7291, 
	(1)  which countries have been conducting covert non-military activity by foreign intelligence organisations against the UK; and what assessment she has made of trends in levels of this activity;
	(2)  how many attempts there have been by foreign intelligence groups to steal sensitive technology relevant to civilian and military projects in the last five years.

Tony McNulty: As set out in the National Security Strategy, the intelligence and security agencies, with others, will continue to protect the UK against covert activity by foreign intelligence organisations.
	However, it has been the consistent policy of successive governments not to comment on the detail of national security issues such as spying against the UK.

Hacking

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many technical attacks through the internet have been detected on Government computer systems in the last five years.

Tony McNulty: It is not in the interests of the UK's national security for departments to confirm publicly whether they hold information about attacks against their IT systems. To do so would enable individuals to deduce how successful the UK is in detecting these attacks and so assist such persons in testing the effectiveness of the UK's IT defences. This is not in the public interest.

Heathrow Airport: Security

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2008,  Official Report, column 676W, on Heathrow Airport: security, on what date the review of each of the events  (a) began and  (b) reported its findings.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 23 June 2008
	The reviews referred to in my previous reply were part of the normal security review process and as such had no formal commencement or completion date. Meetings to discuss the initial incidents (which occurred on 27 and 31 March) were held on 27 March and 1 April respectively and these meetings led to a significant change in the operation of the arrivals processes in this area.
	Similar review meetings were held in the days immediately following each of the other three incidents to examine what had caused the incident and to consider any further precautionary measures that needed to be put in place to prevent further occurrences.
	A follow up meeting was held on 11 June between UK Border Agency, BAA and British Airways to discuss these issues. As part of this meeting it was reiterated that British Airways staff have a legal requirement to ensure that all passengers are correctly dealt with.
	The director of the UK Border Agency at Heathrow has also commissioned a review by a senior manager, independent of terminal 5. This will examine how airport terminals across the UK handling domestic and international flights deal with the additional risks that this might present. The review is expected to result in a formal report, which will highlight best practice and allow UK Border Agency managers to work more closely with airport authorities and airlines to ensure that such occurrences are minimised. This review is ongoing.

Immigration

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will grant indefinite leave to remain to Peter James Hardwick of Kingsbridge whose application was lodged on 12 November 2006, Home Office reference: H1174929.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 23 June 2008
	 The UK Border Agency wrote to the right hon. Member on 19 June 2008.

Immigration Controls: Eurostar

Quentin Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of her officials have been stationed on the European terminals in  (a) Paris and  (b) Brussels since the arrangement commenced; how many of them have taken advantage of the facility available to them of learning a European language; how many have learned a language for an examination; at what level; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Full juxtaposed immigration controls were established at the Eurostar terminal at Paris in February 2004 and at the terminal in Brussels in October 2004. Since then, a total of 123 staff have been posted to these locations. Staff are posted from the UK for periods of between two and three years with their numbers being supplemented by staff who are posted on a short term basis.
	It is not essential to the operation of the immigration control for staff to speak a second language; however staff are encouraged to learn to speak either French or Dutch and may receive departmental assistance towards this. Although an exact figure is not available, some 50 staff have already taken advantage of this assistance. There is no requirement at present for staff to take a formal examination although this is currently under review. About 40 staff already held a qualification in a second language, at 'A level' standard or above, at the time of their posting.

Immigration Controls: Eurostar

Quentin Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to the public purse was incremental to the salaries they would otherwise be drawing in the UK of stationing officials of her Department in the Eurostar terminals in  (a) Paris and  (b) Brussels in the latest period for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: The Civil Service Management Code and the Overseas Compendium dictate that staff posted from the UK to work abroad are placed on the same salary scales as their equivalents working in central London, receive any applicable London allowances, as well as a 'Cost of Living Allowance' (COLA) to provide for the increased cost of living at post. These allowances are regularly reviewed and fluctuate in line with exchange rates and cost of living movements.
	Accommodation, utility bills (excluding private telephone calls), local taxes and transfer costs are also paid from public funds. A single immigration officer posted to Paris therefore costs about 31,000 per annum more than an immigration officer working in central London.
	Prior to the introduction of juxtaposed controls on Eurostar routes there were an average of 700 inadequately documented arrivals (IDA's) and asylum applications seen per month at Waterloo. Since the introduction of the juxtaposed controls, such arrivals at UK Eurostar stations have now all but been eliminated. Many IDA's subsequently go on to claim asylum and so the cost savings resulting from having a juxtaposed control arrangement in place are substantial.

Immigration Controls: Eurostar

Quentin Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of her officials have been stationed in  (a) Paris and  (b) Brussels to examine passports of passengers taking the Eurostar to London since the arrangement commenced.

Liam Byrne: Since full juxtaposed immigration controls were established at the Eurostar terminal at Paris in February 2004 and at Brussels in October 2004 a total of 123 staff have been posted to these locations. They are posted from the UK for periods of between two and three years, with their numbers being supplemented by staff posted on a short term basis.

Immigration Controls: Eurostar

Quentin Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officials from her Department are stationed at the Eurostar terminals in  (a) Paris and  (b) Brussels.

Liam Byrne: There are currently 57 staff posted for a minimum period of two years to Paris and 30 to Brussels, with their numbers being supplemented by staff posted on a short-term basis. These staff are responsible for operating a control on passengers boarding UK bound Eurostar services at Lille, as well as providing on-board controls on the daily service to London from Marne-la Valle (EuroDisney), and seasonal services from Avignon and Bourg St. Maurice.

Immigration Controls: Eurostar

Quentin Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passengers intending to travel on the Eurostar have been denied entry to the United Kingdom by officials based at the terminals in  (a) Paris and  (b) Brussels since they have been based there.

Liam Byrne: Full juxtaposed immigration controls were established at the Eurostar terminal at Paris in February 2004 and at Brussels in October 2004. Between then and 31 March 2008 a total of 11,922 passengers have been refused entry to the United Kingdom at these stations.

Immigration Controls: Higher Education

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department has undertaken consultations with universities on the implementation of the points-based immigration system; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 24 June 2008
	There has been considerable consultation with universities on the implementation of the points based system (PBS) and this is ongoing.
	The Joint Education Taskforce (JET) is a permanent forum for consultation with the education sector and this meets, as a minimum, once a quarter. Universities are well represented on JET and there has been detailed discussion on PBS at every meeting over the past two years.
	The detailed policy and the implementation strategy for Tier 4 of PBS are currently being developed in close consultation with Universities UK and their members, among others.
	In addition, UKBA has held several events to update stakeholders on progress on PBS implementation, the most recent being on 10 June 2008. Representatives of Universities UK and several individual universities attended this event.

Immigration Officers: Powers

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many front-line officers serving in the UK Border Agency had been granted both immigration and customs powers as at 31 May 2008.

Liam Byrne: On 3 April 2008, my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, reported to the House on the creation of the UK Border Agency. At that time, it was announced that by the summer we expected over 1,000 front-line staff to have cross conferred customs and immigration powers.
	As of 31 May 2008, cross conferrals have enabled in excess of 750 UK Border Agency front-line officers to exercise both immigration and customs powers at the UK border. By the end of June, this figure is expected to rise to over 1,000.

Immigration: Public Participation

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times citizen's juries have been used to consider matters relating to Government immigration policy.

Liam Byrne: To date, citizens' juries have not been used to consider matters relating to Government immigration policy.

Members: Correspondence

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to respond to the letter of 4 March from the hon. Member for Sunderland South regarding Joseph Omenga (HO 01066013).

Liam Byrne: I wrote to my hon. Friend on 12 June 2008 to conclude this matter.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the reasons were for the reply of 19 June (CTS ref B19094/8) from the Deputy Chief Executive of the UK Border Agency to the hon. Member for Walsall North to refer the hon. Member to an official in her Department; what the reasons were for dealing with any further information in the case in the letter; and how many replies to hon. Members were signed by the Deputy Chief Executive of the UK Border Agency in each week of the latest period for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 26 June 2008
	Your letter to Lin Homer (UK Border Agency chief executive) dated 28 May related to a work permit application. The reply sent on 19 June from Jonathan Sedgwick (UK Border Agency deputy chief executive) set out that the case had been reconsidered and gave the reasons for maintaining the original decision to refuse the application. The letter also gave the name and contact number of the official in the department who you or your constituent could contact for more information about the reconsideration. This is standard practice and is intended to be helpful to MPs and their staff, as well as their constituents who may have further questions about their case. This approach has been particularly welcomed by those Members with large immigration caseloads. Your letter was written to the chief executive. In accordance with our protocols a letter addressed to the chief executive can be responded to by other officials, on her behalf. This includes the deputy chief executive.
	Letters written to Home Office Ministers about immigration matters can also be answered by the chief executive, as set out in Cabinet Office guidance. Given the large volume of letters relating to immigration received from MPs, the Cabinet Office also allows the deputy chief executive to share the signing of these ministerial letters. This is the same approach which is taken by the Identity and Passport Service.
	In May 2008, Lin Homer and Jonathan Sedgwick between them signed approximately 700 letters to MPs. Figures are not kept for the number of letters signed by the deputy chief executive as opposed to the chief executive but in any given week, they usually sign equal numbers of letters.
	You have asked for further information about this case, which is currently being investigated and you will receive a reply shortly.

Members: Correspondence

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to answer the letter from the hon. Member for Manchester, Central of 17 March (Ref: B20220/8); and what the reason is for the time taken to respond.

Liam Byrne: My officials wrote to my hon. Friend on 26 June 2008.

Morning Star

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many copies of the  Morning Star her Department and each of its agencies procures via subscription each week; and at what cost.

Liam Byrne: The Home Office does not subscribe to the  Morning Star.

National Police Improvement Grants

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces have received national police improvement grants.

Tony McNulty: The Home Office provides funding to police authorities as a whole, but no specific grant provision is made available for policing improvements.
	The National Policing Improvement Agency, through its improvement programme is, in 2008-2009, providing a major capital and resource investment totalling 185.6 million to police forces to support five key areas: mobile police information; improvements to the national communications (for example police radio communications of the London Underground system); the Schengen Information System; the Forensic Science and IMPACT programmes.

Personal information: EU Action

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what categories of information are to be shared between member states following Council Recommendation 2007/562/EC and subsequent related decisions, with particular regard to personal data; and for what reason this agreement was reached at EU rather than Interpol level.

Tony McNulty: Council Recommendation 2007/562/EC recommends that member states share the following information on terrorist kidnaps with other member states via a secure EU network: Country and region in which the kidnapping took place; number and nationality of the hostage(s); time and date of the kidnapping: time and date of the end of the incident; perpetrators/responsible terrorist group; modus operandi of the kidnapping; motivation for the kidnapping; whether a mediator was involved; and details of a contact point in the member state concerned.
	Member states are also recommended to submit the following information, if appropriate:
	hostages' reasons for being in the country, their language skills and gender; ideology, nationality, language skills of the perpetrators; means used by the perpetrators to address the public; and further details on the perpetrators' modus operandi.
	Personal data should be submitted in accordance with member states' national laws.
	This initiative was originally proposed by the G8, but was not taken forward by them in the absence of a secure G8 communications network and to avoid duplication of effort. The idea was taken forward by the EU, utilising an existing EU secure computer network, given the benefit of information sharing between member states for the handling of future terrorist kidnapping incidents. We are not aware of any proposal for Interpol to have a similar database on terrorist kidnapping.
	There have been no subsequent related decisions or further work on this subject suggested by the EU.

Police Raids: Damage

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what circumstances police are required to cover the costs of damage they make to properties when forcing entry as part of their duties; and if she will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The police can apply under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984 for a warrant to enter and search premises for evidence of an offence. The PACE code of practice for the searching of premises by police officers and the seizure of property found by police officers on persons or premises (Code B) requires that the officer conducting a search shall, unless it is impracticable to do so, provide the occupier with a copy of a Notice of Powers and Rights which clearly sets out the powers used and the rights of the individual, including that compensation may be payable in appropriate cases for damages caused entering and searching premises, and giving the address to send a compensation application. Whether compensation is appropriate depends on the circumstances in each case.

Police: Fuels

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what contingency plans her Department has in place for the provision of fuel for police vehicles during periods of fuel shortages;
	(2)  what recent representations she has received on the supply of fuel to police vehicles during the strike by fuel supply drivers.

Tony McNulty: The Home Office does not issue guidance, and has received no representations from police forces, relating to the provision of fuel to police forces. It is a matter for individual police forces to make their own contingency arrangements for potential fuel shortages.

Police: Manpower

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were employed per head of the population in each police force area in each year since 1997-98.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is published annually in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin series Police Service Strength, England and Wales. The bulletins are available in the Library of the House, and can be downloaded from the publications link within the Research Development and Statistics directorate website located at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/index.html
	The available data are also given in the following table.
	
		
			  Police officers( 1)  (FTE)( 2)  per 100,000 of the population for by police force, as at 31 March 1997 to 31 March 2007 
			   31 March  each year 
			  Police force  1997( 3)  1998  1999  2000  2001( 4)  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Avon and Somerset 204 203 203 197 197 205 213 229 226 226 224 
			 Bedfordshire 200 197 189 185 184 189 198 210 213 213 207 
			 Cambridgeshire 188 184 179 172 179 187 196 197 196 196 187 
			 Cheshire 209 208 211 204 204 209 217 224 223 223 225 
			 Cleveland 261 266 255 252 253 263 294 314 308 308 315 
			 Cumbria 233 237 229 220 213 224 237 254 256 256 255 
			 Derbyshire 187 184 182 183 187 189 210 216 212 212 209 
			 Devon and Cornwall 186 192 186 182 187 192 204 208 219 219 216 
			 Dorset 189 192 186 189 196 198 205 209 216 216 217 
			 Durham 240 249 258 256 263 266 281 288 288 288 285 
			 Essex 197 193 190 183 178 181 186 192 203 203 203 
			 Gloucestershire 205 198 197 200 209 209 219 229 228 228 229 
			 Greater Manchester 268 270 265 264 268 279 298 323 318 318 314 
			 Hampshire 198 199 197 193 193 195 208 211 211 211 215 
			 Hertfordshire 205 202 198 201 184 174 191 204 208 208 210 
			 Humberside 230 228 223 219 217 234 244 256 251 251 251 
			 Kent 210 209 204 203 209 210 221 228 227 227 229 
			 Lancashire 228 229 228 223 228 231 239 252 253 253 252 
			 Leicestershire 211 214 215 215 218 224 232 246 241 241 237 
			 Lincolnshire 196 193 184 179 191 189 191 189 183 183 183 
			 London, City of(5)
			 Merseyside 296 297 298 290 291 294 302 303 315 315 325 
			 Metropolitan Police(5) 367 356 352 341 351 366 404 420 417 417 426 
			 Norfolk 185 184 176 175 178 183 189 190 193 193 191 
			 Northamptonshire 196 193 186 181 186 194 194 198 207 207 200 
			 Northumbria 256 263 269 266 272 278 290 294 291 291 283 
			 North Yorkshire 183 186 181 173 175 188 193 203 216 216 217 
			 Nottinghamshire 225 225 216 214 214 226 239 245 243 243 235 
			 South Yorkshire 242 244 243 243 245 246 252 261 259 259 256 
			 Staffordshire 209 217 211 204 201 201 212 218 219 219 219 
			 Suffolk 180 179 179 171 168 177 188 196 191 191 196 
			 Surrey 209 207 212 227 192 184 182 183 184 184 183 
			 Sussex 211 203 191 188 188 190 203 206 207 207 205 
			 Thames Valley 180 183 180 178 175 177 186 195 202 202 199 
			 Warwickshire 186 185 180 178 182 190 198 197 198 198 199 
			 West Mercia 183 180 180 166 171 176 196 202 202 202 205 
			 West Midlands 270 271 278 274 283 293 307 311 318 318 318 
			 West Yorkshire 247 244 236 228 228 230 242 254 270 270 270 
			 Wiltshire 195 195 192 185 184 189 190 198 196 196 192 
			 Dyfed-Powys 212 210 215 217 219 234 237 236 237 237 236 
			 Gwent 275 222 224 227 229 239 244 248 264 264 268 
			 North Wales 208 213 212 213 220 228 234 243 242 242 238 
			 South Wales 223 242 241 236 250 259 273 275 271 271 273 
			 (1) This table is based on full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2) Figures up to 31 March 2002 exclude staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. The figures for 31 March 2003 onwards figures include those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. (3) Boundary changes on 1 April 1996 transferred resources for the policing of the Rhymney Valley from South Wales police to Gwent police. (4) Boundary changes on 1 April 2000 transferred some resources from the Metropolitan police to Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey police forces. (5) Officers per 100,000 population for City of London and Metropolitan police are combined.

Police: Rhyl

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers are based in  (a) Rhyl and  (b) Colwyn Bay, broken down by rank.

Tony McNulty: The requested information is not collected centrally in police personnel statistics. Rank data are available at police force level only.

Prostitution: Developing Countries

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken by the Government to prevent and discourage sex tourism abroad by UK nationals; and what funding has been allocated to such work in 2008-09.

Vernon Coaker: Section 72 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 amends the extraterritorial provisions of Sexual Offences Act 2003 to remove the dual criminality requirement. This will allow the prosecution of UK nationals for offences committed against children overseas even if the act committed is not illegal in the country where it was committed.
	The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) was established in 2006 and tackling travelling UK sex offenders is part of its remit. It continues to work with UK police and police overseas to exchange information on intelligence on specific offenders and share knowledge on methods of discouraging offenders from travelling abroad to exploit children and apprehending those who do. We have provided CEOP with a budget of 5.77 million this year.

Prostitution: Developing Countries

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government is taking in international fora to encourage more countries to adopt extraterritorial laws to tackle child sex tourism.

Vernon Coaker: The UK actively participated in The Lyon/Roma group (G8 expert group for organised crime) which produced a G8 analysis of extraterritorial jurisdiction of sexual exploitation crimes.
	The UK participated in the development of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. Article 25 obliges state parties to take extraterritorial jurisdiction over certain offences established in accordance with this convention. The UK indicated its support for this Convention by signing it on 5 May and is taking steps to enable it to be ratified.

Revenue and Customs: Closures

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the possible effects of the proposed closure of HM Revenue and Customs offices in Scotland on border and frontier protection; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The proposed closure of HMRC offices in Scotland is not expected to have any impact on border and frontier protection. This is because the proposals do not include any frontier office closures therefore Border Force staff and activity should not be affected.
	The former HM Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue had policies of actively managing their estates to ensure value for money. The changes, as a whole, are designed to significantly improve customer service and value for money for taxpayers.

Suicide: Drugs

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what proportion of  (a) suicides and  (b) killings in (i) Lancashire, (ii) the North West and (iii) England the consumption of (A) alcohol and (B) illegal drugs was a contributory factor in each of the last 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: Neither the Home Office nor Ministry of Justice collect data on suicides in the general population.
	Information available centrally on killings relates to homicides recorded by the police in England and Wales for each year between 1997-98 and 2005-06 where the principal suspect was known to be intoxicated at the time of the offence, and is shown in the following table. However, as this is based on information notified to the Home Office, rather than the actual case files held by the police or the court records, it may understate the true position.
	
		
			  Table 1: Offence currently recorded( 1)  as homicide by intoxication level of principal suspect( 2) : Lancashire police, 1997-98 to 2006-07( 3,4) 
			  Percentage 
			   Principal suspect drink drug level at time of homicide( 2) 
			  Year recorded( 3)  Been drinking alcohol  Taken an illicit drug  Both drinking alcohol and taking an illicit drug 
			 1997-98 13.0 0 4.3 
			 1998-99 13.6 0 0 
			 1999-2000 6.3 0 0 
			 2000-01 3.4 0 6.9 
			 2001-02 11.8 0 5.9 
			 2002-03 11.5 0 0 
			 2003-04 18.5 0 0 
			 2004-05 17.2 0 0 
			 2005-06 8.3 0 8.3 
			 2006-07 30.4 0 0 
			 (1) As at 12 November 2007; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. (2) From the information supplied to the Home Office, the principal suspect is known to have been intoxicated at the time of the offence. These may include cases where drink/drugs was not the primary factor. The figures are affected by recording changes, most notably in 2001-02 when some forces made use of a new notification system. (3) Offences are shown according to the year in which police initially recorded the offence as homicide. This is not necessarily the year in which the incident took place or the year in which any court decision was made. (4) Data for 2007-08 are not yet published. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Offences currently recorded( 1)  as homicide by intoxication level of principal suspect( 2) : North West region( 3) ,1997-98 to 2006-07( 4,5) 
			  Percentage 
			   Principal suspect drink drug level at time of homicide( 2) 
			  Year recorded( 4)  Been drinking alcohol  Taken an illicit drug  Both drinking alcohol and taking an illicit drug 
			 1997-98 5.8 1.0 1.0 
			 1998-99 6.7 0 0.8 
			 1999-2000 6.5 0 0 
			 2000-01 3.5 0.9 1.8 
			 2001-02 9.8 0.8 1.5 
			 2002-03 6.8 0.3 1.0 
			 2003-04 13.8 0.7 2.0 
			 2004-05 11.8 2.1 2.1 
			 2005-06 6.7 1.0 1.9 
			 2006-07 15.3 0.9 1.8 
			 (1) As at 12 November 2007; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. (2) From the information supplied to the Home Office, the principal suspect is known to have been intoxicated at the time of the offence. These may include cases where drink/drugs was not the primary factor. The figures are affected by recording changes, most notably in 2001-02 when some forces made use of a new notification system. (3) Includes the police forces: Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside. (4) Offences are shown according to the year in which police initially recorded the offence as homicide. This is not necessarily the year in which the incident took place or the year in which any court decision was made. (5) Data for 2007-08 are not yet published. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Offences currently recorded( 1)  as homicide by intoxication level of principal suspect( 2) : England( 3) ,1997-98 to 2006-07( 4,5) 
			  Percentage 
			   Principal suspect drink drug level at time of homicide( 2) 
			  Year recorded( 4)  Been drinking alcohol  Taken an illicit drug  Both drinking alcohol and taking an illicit drug 
			 1997-98 8.9 0.5 1.0 
			 1998-99 7.0 0.6 1.1 
			 1999-2000 4.7 0.8 0.9 
			 2000-01 5.6 0.8 0.8 
			 2001-02 12.4 1.9 1.8 
			 2002-03 12.4 2.1 2.2 
			 2003-04 16.0 2.1 3.2 
			 2004-05 13.2 2.0 4.4 
			 2005-06 10.6 1.2 2.3 
			 2006-07 13.7 1.6 2.9 
			 (1) As at 12 November 2007; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. (2) From the information supplied to the Home Office, the principal suspect is known to have been intoxicated at the time of the offence. These may include cases where drink/drugs was not the primary factor. The figures are affected by recording changes, most notably in 2001-02 when some forces made use of a new notification system. (3) Excludes offences recorded by British Transport Police. (4) Offences are shown according to the year in which police initially recorded the offence as homicide. This is not necessarily the year in which the incident took place or the year in which any court decision was made. (5) Data for 2007-08 are not yet published.

Surveillance

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which public bodies are entitled to request the right to intercept individuals' emails and correspondence; and if she will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The public authorities concerned are: the Security Service, the Secret Intelligence Service, GCHQ, the Serious Organised Crime Agency, the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, the Metropolitan Police Service, the Police Service for Northern Ireland, Scottish Police forces, HM Revenue and Customs and the Defence Intelligence Staff.
	The interception of communications such as telephone calls, e-mails and letters is governed by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 which requires that authorisation is given only when it is necessary and proportionate with regard to human rights.

UK Border Agency: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what checks are made by senior officials to ensure accuracy of replies to hon. Members from the UK Border Agency before they are sent, with particular reference to the reply of 19 June 2008 to the hon. Member for Walsall North (ref. B1178885).

Liam Byrne: Gill Mortlock, the Regional Director for the UK Border Agency North West Region wrote to my hon. Friend on 26 June 2008 to clarify this issue.

Wood

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much timber and timber products were procured by her Department in each of the last five years; and at what cost.

Liam Byrne: The Home Office actively seeks to buy all wood and wood products (including furniture) from legal and sustainable sources. Data on quantity are no longer recorded centrally. We have data on two years within the last five: these are set out as follows:
	
		
			   
			   Value of timber  Value of timber products 
			 2003-04(1) 1,275,000 2,131,137 
			 2004-05(1) 291, 000 1,209,000 
			 (1) Includes Prison Service.

Work Permits

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will provide a breakdown by level of earnings of holders of work permits for the three most recent years for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 20 June 2008
	This information is not centrally recorded and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Yarl's Wood Detention Centre: Fires

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answers of  (a) 11 June 2008,  Official Report, column 357W, on Yarl's Wood Detention Centre, and  (b) 25 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1273W, on Yarl's Wood and with reference to the answers of (i) 19 March 2002,  Official Report, column 281W, on Home Office and (ii) 20 March 2003,  Official Report, columns 945-47W, on Home Office, how many insurance claims there are outstanding in relation to the fire at Yarl's Wood in February 2002; who is responsible for securing conclusion in each case; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The Home Office has one insurance claim outstanding relating to the damage caused by the fire at Yarl's Wood removal centre on 14 February 2002. Conclusion of this matter is between the Home Office and the insurers.
	It is understood that the insurers have made a claim against Bedfordshire police under the Riot Damages Act 1886. Conclusion of this matter is between the insurers and Bedfordshire police authority.